Rabi acreage under oilseeds such as rapeseed mustard and groundnut has seen a rise, while the area under wheat sown so far, was marginally lower than last year.
Data released by the Agriculture Ministry revealed that wheat sowing, so far, has taken place in an area of 272.79 lakh ha, down marginally over corresponding last year’s 276.81 lakh ha.
The hike in minimum support price (MSP) announced by the Government last week is expected to give a fillip to wheat sowing in the days ahead.
The Government has increased the MSP for wheat by Rs 65 a quintal to Rs 1,350 for the 2012-13 season over last year’s Rs 1,285.
Major wheat growing states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have reported an increase in area under wheat. However, the wheat acreage is lower in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The area under oilseeds is up marginally at 78.86 lakh ha against 77.88 lakh ha. Rapeseed mustard acreage is up by about 1.2 lakh ha at 65 lakh ha. Groundnut and sunflower have also seen a marginal increase in area.
States such as Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have reported a higher area, while the acreage is down in Maharashtra.
The rice acreage was also lower at 1.87 lakh ha against 3.02 lakh ha in corresponding period last year.
The acreage under coarse cereals such as jowar, bajra and ragi is up marginally, while that the area under pulses is slightly lower than last year. States such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have reported a marginally higher area under coarse cereals such as jowar and ragi. However, Maharashtra has reported a lower area under coarse cereals.
Pulses such as gram has seen an increase in acreage while moong and urad have seen a marginal decline in area.