Millet Sowing Slightly Down, Jute-Mesta Up in This Year's Kharif

NEW DELHI, 8 September – According to figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, the Kharif season's total sowing area as of 4 September stood at 1,086.31 lakh hectares, a modest decrease from 1,104 lakh hectares recorded last year.

Millet crops – jowar, bajra and ragi – were sown on an estimated 181.39 lakh hectares, marginally lower than the 182.48 lakh hectares of the previous season. The primary contributors to this reduction were large cuts in Karnataka and Maharashtra, together with declines in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. While states such as Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand posted gains, these were insufficient to offset the losses.

Jute and Mesta, on the other hand, saw a rise to 6.34 lakh hectares, up from 6.24 lakh hectares a year earlier. The increase was driven by expanded planting in Bihar and West Bengal, which compensated for reductions in Assam and Andhra Pradesh.

Rice area contracted to 421.82 lakh hectares from 438.19 lakh hectares, reflecting the impact of a weak monsoon after an El Nino episode. The most affected states were Karnataka, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

Pulse cultivation (urad, moong) grew to 117.13 lakh hectares, outpacing last year's 115.30 lakh hectares thanks to higher sowing in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Oilseeds, sugarcane, and cotton each recorded slight declines, with oilseeds at 191.99 lakh hectares (down 1.07), sugarcane at 58.47 lakh hectares (down 0.40), and cotton at 109.17 lakh hectares (down 0.70) compared with the previous year.

These figures provide a comprehensive view of crop dynamics across India's diverse agro‑ecological zones during the current Kharif cycle.