Paddy acreage dips by 57 lakh hectares on drought like situation

NEW DELHI: Paddy areas across the country has gone down by 57 lakh hectares so far this kharif season due to drought like conditions in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.

"The paddy acreage has declined by 57 lakh hectares. We have asked states to go ahead with the contingency plans to save standing crops," Agriculture Commissioner N B Singh said here today.

While the areas under pulses, sugarcane and groundnut have declined, the coverage of coarse cereals, including maize and cotton, has gone up, he said.

The coverage of pulses is down by 6 lakh hectares, groundnut by 6-8 lakh hectares and sugarcane by one lakh hectares so far this kharif season.

However, cotton acreage has risen by 11 lakh hectares, while that of coarse cereals has gone up marginally, he said.

Commenting on the monsoon, the Commissioner said deficiency in rainfall in the country as a whole stand at 29 per cent as on today.