Paddy Acreage Lags Behind Last Year by 1.59 Million Hectares

08-Aug-2026 12:12 PM

New Delhi. The acreage for paddy—the most important food grain of the Kharif season—stood at 34.478 million hectares as of August 7 this year; this is 1.59 million hectares (or approximately 2 percent) less than the 36.068 million hectares recorded during the same period last year.

The actual acreage is significantly lower than the five-year average area for paddy, which is estimated at 41.2 million hectares. In fact, paddy alone accounts for a reduction of about 1.6 million hectares out of the total 1.8 million hectare decline in the overall cultivation area during the current Kharif season compared to last year.

Paddy cultivation will continue for a few more weeks. Good monsoon rainfall across various parts of the country is aiding farmers with transplantation. If a severe drought crisis does not occur in the near future, a good paddy harvest is still possible.

Government warehouses already hold massive stocks of rice, while the new marketing season for government paddy procurement is set to begin in October 2026. The final figure for the total cultivation area will only be known in the second week of September.