With sowing area under rabi crops exceeding 40 per cent of the normal area in the first 45 days of the season, the progress indicates there may not be a concern on any crop as far as acreage in concerned. Other factors such as timely availability of inputs such as seeds and fertilisers, and conducive weather will now determine the actual production of wheat, mustard and chana this season.
Total coverage under all rabi crops has been recorded at 268.80 lakh hectares (lh) as on November 18 in the on-going season, higher by 7.2 per cent from 250.76 lh in the year-ago period, the Agriculture Ministry said. The government has set the target for rabi-grown food grains at 164.85 million tonnes (mt), including 112 mt of wheat.
Early sowing
“The rabi crops are crucial for the government as the kharif foodgrains production is estimated to be lower by 13 mt with respect to the target of 163.15 mt for 2022-23,” said an official. The initial trend shows that farmers have started the sowing earlier than last year, which will be helpful for the crops’ productivity, he added. The government’s target of foodgrains output in 2022-23 (both kharif and rabi) is 328 mt, which is nearly 4 per cent higher than actual production of 2021-22.
Wheat acreage has increased by 15 per cent to 101.49 lh as of November 18 from 88.46 lh in the year-ago period and except in Haryana, it is higher in all other major wheat-growing States. The higher area under wheat has been reported from Punjab (7.18 lh), followed by Rajasthan (4.24 lh), Uttar Pradesh (2.59 lh), Maharashtra (1.05 lh) and Gujarat (0.67 lh).
“As wheat’s share is nearly 70 per cent of the rabi foodgrains, the acreage should be higher this year to offset any yield drop,” said an agriculture scientist. As there are reports of fertiliser shortages in States like Punjab, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Delayed supplies may reduce the applied quantity, potentially lowering the yield, experts said.
In oilseeds, rapeseed and mustard acreages have jumped 14.7 per cent at 63.25 lh as against 55.13 lh, thanks to Rajasthan, where it is up by 15 per cent. Total area under oilseeds reached at 66.81 lh, higher than 59.22 lh in the year-ago period. Normal area under all oilseeds is nearly 79 lh and it is expected that by end of the month the sowing level will reach that level.
Coarse cereals have been sown in 19.24 lh, a tad lower than 19.80 lh a year ago. Similarly, the pulses acreage has reached 73.25 lh so far, against 76.08 lh in the year-ago period. The key winter-grown pulse gram (chana) has been sown in 52.57 lh, against 52.83 lh.
Winter-grown paddy area has been reported at 8.03 lh, which is 11.5 per cent higher than 7.21 lh a year ago. The government has targetted an output of 18.5 mt of rice from rabi season. The kharif rice production is estimated at 104.99 mt, against a target of 112 mt.