Higher coverage is reported from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Sowing is marginally lower in West Bengal. Production is expected to exceed last year’s 80.17 million tonnes.
According to data released by the Agriculture Ministry, the coverage of rabi crops is 51.92 million hectares, against 50.59 million hectares sown last year.
The area under pulses is also encouraging, with 14.8 million hectares sown so far, against 13.7 million hectares covered the same time last year.
The area is higher in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana, Gujarat and West Bengal. It is lesser than last year in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa.
The area planted with oilseeds is also higher this year, at 9.4 million hectares, compared to 9.08 million hectares last year.
Again, Rajasthan has sown the highest this year, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
However, the area under coarse cereals is lower, owing to lesser coverage of maize in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and lower area under sorghum (jowar) in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The total area under coarse cereals is reported to be 5.96 million hectares, compared to 6.39 million hectares last year.
The area under rabi rice is also lower, at 1.94 million hectares. It was 2.18 million hectares last year.
Some shortfall in sowing has been reported from West Bengal and Karnataka.
Thanks to late rain towards the end of the kharif season, the total live storage in 81 important reservoirs in the country on January 27 was 91.653 billion cubic meter, against 67, 138 billion cubic meter in the previous year.