Coarse Grains Acreage Rises 5% to 5.872 Million Hectares

21-Jan-2026 02:24 PM

New Delhi. During the current rabi season, the sowing area under coarse grains/“Shree Anna” has increased for all crops except sorghum (jowar) compared with last year. Although the government has announced a substantial increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for jowar, its acreage declined as farmers in major producing states gave priority to crops such as wheat, chickpea, and mustard. On the other hand, acreage under maize, barley, and ragi has increased.

According to official data, total acreage under coarse grains in the ongoing rabi season has risen to 5.872 million hectares, about 5% higher than last year’s 5.593 million hectares. Within this, jowar acreage declined by 5.5% from 2.385 million hectares to 2.254 million hectares. In contrast, ragi acreage jumped by around 39% from 70,000 hectares to 97,000 hectares, barley sowing area increased by 21.2% from 608,000 hectares to 737,000 hectares, and maize acreage improved by 10% from 2.505 million hectares to 2.755 million hectares. Bajra acreage remained almost unchanged from last year.

The Ministry of Agriculture has set production targets for the 2025–26 rabi season at 14.5 million tons of maize, 3.17 million tons of nutritious grains (jowar, bajra, ragi, etc.), and 2.05 million tons of barley, and is confident of achieving these targets. Crop conditions are generally reported to be normal and satisfactory across major producing states. During the rabi season, maize production is highest in Bihar, barley in Rajasthan, and jowar in Maharashtra. Harvesting preparations for the new crop will take place during March–April, and favorable weather over the next few weeks will be essential for better yields. Domestic demand and consumption of maize continue to rise steadily.