The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has reported a significant reduction in the total area sown under kharif crops, which currently stands at 1,086.31 lakh hectares as of September 4. This reflects a decline of 17.69 lakh hectares compared to the same period last year. The ministry attributes this decrease primarily to a drop in rice cultivation.

According to the latest figures, rice coverage has decreased from 438.19 lakh hectares last year to 421.82 lakh hectares this season, representing a loss of 16.37 lakh hectares. The states experiencing the most considerable reductions in rice cultivation include Karnataka, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh, among others.

The overall contraction in kharif crop area has been somewhat mitigated by an increase in pulse cultivation, with the area devoted to pulses rising from 115.30 lakh hectares in the previous year to 117.13 lakh hectares this year, reflecting a gain of 1.84 lakh hectares.

Changes in Pulse Cultivation

The increase in pulse area has been mainly propelled by improvements in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. These gains have successfully compensated for declines in other states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Odisha. Within the category of pulses, urad coverage has risen by 2.68 lakh hectares, reaching 25.15 lakh hectares. Meanwhile, tur cultivation has grown by 0.72 lakh hectares to 45.66 lakh hectares.

Conversely, the area under moong has experienced a decline of 1.04 lakh hectares, now standing at 33.19 lakh hectares. This varied performance in pulses indicates shifts in agricultural strategies among farmers and the impact of regional climatic conditions.

Despite the rise in certain pulse categories, the overall kharif coverage remains lower than last year’s figures. The data point to ongoing challenges in the agricultural sector for the kharif season, particularly concerning key crops.

Declines in Other Major Crops

In addition to the reductions in rice and other pulses, the area dedicated to Shri Anna and coarse cereals has decreased slightly, from 182.48 lakh hectares last year to 181.39 lakh hectares this year. Notably, maize coverage has fallen by 2.99 lakh hectares to 91.09 lakh hectares, while the area for bajra has increased by 1.99 lakh hectares, now totalling 64.86 lakh hectares.

The oilseed sector has also seen a decline, with an overall coverage of 191.99 lakh hectares, down from 193.06 lakh hectares the previous year. Soybean cultivation dropped by 1.16 lakh hectares to 121.82 lakh hectares, and groundnut area fell by 0.83 lakh hectares to 49.61 lakh hectares, indicating a worrying trend for oilseed production.

Sugarcane coverage decreased by 0.40 lakh hectares to 58.47 lakh hectares, and cotton cultivation also declined by 0.69 lakh hectares, now reported at 109.17 lakh hectares. The marginal increase in jute and mesta coverage, which rose to 6.34 lakh hectares from 6.24 lakh hectares last year, provided a slight offset to the overall reductions. The cumulative data suggests a challenging environment for kharif crops, as multiple key sectors continue to experience declines.

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