Agriculture Ministry figures: Rabi crops sown over 614 lakh hectares, wheat acreage up 2.15 per cent
New Delhi| The area under wheat sowing increased by 2.15 per cent to 319.74 lakh hectares in the current Rabi season. Last season it was 3.13 million hectares. During this period, Rabi crops were sown in a total of more than 614 lakh hectares. However, the area under oilseeds declined by 5.14 per cent to 96.15 lakh hectares.
According to the data released on Monday by the Agriculture Ministry, the area under pulses remained unchanged at 136.13 lakh hectares till December 30 in the current Rabi season. In this, gram has been sown in 93.98 lakh hectares and lentils in 17.43 lakh hectares. Sowing of coarse grains increased marginally from 47.77 lakh hectares to 48.55 lakh hectares.
Talking about sowing of other Rabi season crops, paddy has been sown in 14.37 lakh hectares, whereas last time it was sown in 13.61 lakh hectares. Pea sowing area declined marginally from 8.98 lakh hectares to 8.94 lakh hectares. Moreover, the area under cultivation of groundnut oilseeds remained stable at only 3.32 lakh hectares compared to the previous Rabi season.
About 90 per cent of the country’s groundwater is used for agriculture. According to a 2022 government assessment the rate of groundwater extraction in the breadbasket states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan is over 100 per cent due to unsustainable use of water resources. During the last monsoon, Uttar Pradesh recorded 14 per cent rainfall deficit while Assam recorded 13 per cent deficit.
Similarly, 10 per cent below normal rainfall was recorded in both Haryana and Kerala, 12, Jharkhand 13, North East Madhya Pradesh 15, Rajasthan 11 and West Bengal. Along with this, there was no rain at all in most of the states after mid-September, due to which the situation in these states which are already facing ground water crisis is already becoming difficult. About 90 per cent of Rabi sowing has been done through borewells.
Similarly, till now 38.75 lakh hectares of sriannas or coarse grains have been sown. Whereas in the case of oilseeds, this figure has been recorded at 91.6 lakh hectares. During the same period in 2023-24, 40.45 lakh hectares of sriannas or coarse grains had been sown. Oilseeds had also been sown in an area of 96.96 lakh hectares so far last season.
