El Niño Weak Monsoon Cuts Kharif Crop Sowing to 6.58 Million Sq km

According to data released on July 21, the kharif sowing season has so far covered 658.19 lakh hectares (approximately 6.58 million square kilometres), a figure well below the 700.47 lakh hectares achieved by this date last year.

The drop is most evident in cereal and pulse crops. Rice is being sown on 166.41 lakh hectares, a slight dip from 167.83 lakh hectares a year earlier. The area planted with urad and moong has fallen to 69.23 lakh hectares, compared with 81.52 lakh hectares previously.

Millet cultivation—jowar, bajra and ragi—has been recorded at 98.69 lakh hectares, a reduction of nearly 30 lakh hectares from the 127.30 lakh hectares sown in the previous season. Early‑sown sugarcane now covers 119.03 lakh hectares, down from 134.09 lakh hectares.

Meteorologists attribute the shortfall to a weaker monsoon linked to the ongoing El Niño event, which has limited rain distribution across major kharif zones. In response, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, has cleared a rise in minimum support prices for 14 kharif crops for the 2026‑27 marketing season.

The MSP revision adheres to the 2018‑19 budget commitment to set prices at a minimum of 1.5 times the all‑India weighted average cost of production. Projected farmer gains are highest for moong (≈61 % above cost), followed by bajra and maize (≈56 % each) and tur/arhar (≈54 %). Other kharif crops are expected to deliver around a 50 % margin, reinforcing the government's strategy of encouraging legume, oilseed and nutrient‑dense millet cultivation through enhanced price support.