Good progress in sowing of gram, lentils and peas

18-Nov-2025 10:59 AM

New Delhi. Sowing of the three main pulse crops of the Rabi season - gram, lentils and peas - is progressing well, while the area under other pulses including horse gram, black gram, green gram and khesari is either at par with last year or slightly behind.

Official data shows that the total domestic area under pulses production in the current Rabi season has increased to 52.82 lakh hectares till November 14, 2025, which is 3.89 lakh hectares more than the sowing area of ​​48.93 lakh hectares in the same period last year.

According to available data, during the current Rabi season, compared to last year, the area under gram production jumped from 34.04 lakh hectares to 37.43 lakh hectares.

The area under lentils increased from 6.08 lakh hectares to 6.83 lakh hectares, and the area under peas improved from 4.24 lakh hectares to 4.75 lakh hectares. The area under horse gram was recorded at 97 thousand hectares, which is the same as last year.

On the other hand, during the period under review, the area under urad production slipped from 98 thousand hectares to 79 thousand hectares, the area under khesari fell from 1.18 lakh hectares to 1.04 lakh hectares,

and the area under green gram decreased from 9 thousand hectares to 5 thousand hectares. The area under other pulses also declined from 1.36 lakh hectares to 95 thousand hectares. The vigorous sowing of pulses is still ongoing.

Indian farmers are showing strong interest in chickpea cultivation this year due to favorable weather conditions and very low imports from foreign countries, particularly Australia.

Furthermore, the government has significantly increased the minimum support price (MSP) for chickpea and lentils and has imposed a 10 percent import duty on both pulses. A 100 percent purchase guarantee has also been issued for lentils.