As the kharif sowing season draws to a close, the acreages under crops, such as rice, oilseeds and sugarcane, have seen a rise this year, while the area under pulses, coarse cereals and cotton have seen a marginal dip.

As on September 20, the total kharif area has registered a marginal increase of 0.61 per cent over last year, though the southwest monsoon pattern has been erratic this year. Acreage under rice, the major kharif crop, has increased 2.36 per cent with states, such as Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal, witnessing higher area under the cereal crop. Total area under rice stood at 385.85 lakh ha, higher than last year, but lower than the normal for the season.

Among oilseeds, soyabean has witnessed an increase in area, as farmers attracted by the price of the commodity during the planting season have brought in more area under the oilseed. Other oilseeds such as castor and sesamum have also seen a marginal increase in area. However, groundnut, sunflower and nigerseed have witnessed a decline in acreages.

 

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The entire basket of coarse cereals -- jowar, bajra, maize and ragi, among others, have witnessed a dip in acreages. Similarly, in pulses, except for tur (pigeonpea) and moong (green gram), all other varieties of pulses, including urad, have seen a decline in area.

Sugarcane acreage has exceeded both last year’s level and the normal area, touching 51.95 lakh ha. However, another cash crop, cotton, has seen a marginal decline.

The Government has set a food grain production target of 285 million tonnes for 2018-19, marginally higher than last year’s 284.83 million tonnes. The south west monsoon, which is in the last stages, has been erratic and the cumulative rainfall in the season so far has been 10 per cent lower than normal across the country. About 31 per cent of the area has seen deficient rainfall, while the remaining 69 per cent of the country’s geographical area has seen normal to excess rainfall.

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