Rabi planting increases 27% in a week

NEW DELHI: Planting of crops in the current rabi season is at full throttle, with the acreage increasing 27% since last week and being 9% more compared with this time a year earlier, data from the agriculture ministry showed. The figures suggest that scrapping of high-denomination currency notes hasn’t affected sowing as some had feared.

Planting is expected to continue, with the weather remaining favourable and the support prices for various crops being attractive.

Winter crops were planted on 415.53 lakh hectares as of Friday, compared with 327.62 lakh hectares a week earlier, according to data from the agriculture ministry. A year ago, the acreage was 382.84 lakh hectares.

The government’s target for this year is to plant rabi crops on 638.37 lakh hectares.

The area under pulses, oilseeds and wheat increased from a year earlier, that with coarse cereals and rice fell.

Water levels in key reservoirs were also higher than last year, according to the Central Water Commission that monitors 91 major reservoirs in the country. The reservoirs held 102.841 billion cubic metres of water, 26% more than at the same time last year, suggesting better availability for winter crops. However, the level was 2% less than the 10-year average.


Wheat planting has fallen in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, but increased in Rajasthan and Bihar, the ministry said.

Planting increased largely in gram (chana), lentil (masoor) and field pea (lobia) pulses, while that in kulthi, urad bean and moong bean fell. Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Haryana have reported a fall in area under pulses.