Kharif Crop Acreage Surges 11% to Over 437 Lakh Hectares
08-Jul-2025 02:55 PM
New Delhi: Favorable monsoon rainfall across various parts of the country, supportive weather conditions, and active farmer participation have led to a significant expansion in the sowing of kharif crops. According to the weekly report from the Union Ministry of Agriculture, as of July 4, the total area under kharif crops in the current season has risen to 437.43 lakh hectares. This is 11.1% higher than the 393.77 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year and represents 40% of the five-year average area of 1,097 lakh hectares.
A key highlight is that within the past week alone, the kharif crop area increased by approximately 18 lakh hectares, with oilseeds contributing the most—about 60 lakh hectares. The rainfall during this period was also notably favorable. The rapid pace of kharif sowing is expected to continue in the coming days.
Although the acreage of crops such as arhar (pigeon pea), maize, ragi, small millets, nigerseed, and castor is still trailing last year’s levels, the area under other crops has surpassed previous figures.
According to the ministry’s report:
Paddy sowing has increased by 7.4%, from 64.52 to 69.30 lakh hectares.
Pulses acreage has grown by 35.2%, from 31.48 to 42.57 lakh hectares.
Within pulses, urad rose from 5.02 to 5.27 lakh hectares,
moong jumped from 6.73 to 16.58 lakh hectares,
while tur (arhar) declined by 11%, from 18.52 to 16.47 lakh hectares.
Oilseed acreage, which was initially lagging behind, has now surged 14% from 94.90 to 108.21 lakh hectares.
Soybean sowing increased from 75.46 to 79.04 lakh hectares.
Groundnut jumped from 17.73 to 26.74 lakh hectares.
Sunflower acreage remains steady at around 45–46 thousand hectares.