The 2024 Kharif season has witnessed a remarkable surge in crop sowing across India. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, as of the end of August, approximately 1087.33 lakh hectares have been sown with various crops. There has been a significant increase of 20.44 lakh hectares in the area under pulses, oilseeds, and sugarcane compared to last year. The most notable growth has been observed in paddy cultivation, while the area under cotton has seen a sharp decline.
Paddy sowing has been completed across all states. So far, paddy has been sown and transplanted over 408.72 lakh hectares nationwide. Among pulses, Arhar (pigeon pea) leads with an acreage of 45.78 lakh hectares, marking an increase of 5.04 lakh hectares compared to last year. Moong (green gram) sowing has reached 34.76 lakh hectares.
There has been a substantial rise in the sowing of coarse cereals, with an area of 187.74 lakh hectares, which is 6.68 lakh hectares more than last year. Jowar (sorghum) has been sown over 15.16 lakh hectares, an increase of 1.10 lakh hectares from the previous year. However, the sowing of Bajra (pearl millet) has decreased by approximately 1.26 lakh hectares compared to last year.
The area under oilseed crops for the Kharif season has increased to 190.63 lakh hectares, which is 1.80 lakh hectares more than last year. Groundnut has seen the highest increase, with an additional 4.09 lakh hectares sown. The area under soybean has reached 125.11 lakh hectares, which is 1.25 lakh hectares more than last year.
.jpg "Government new initiative to promote regenerative farming in India")
