Rabi Crop Area Increases to 652 Lakh Hectares
20-Jan-2026 01:43 PM
New Delhi: The latest weekly data from the Union Ministry of Agriculture shows that the total area under Rabi crops has increased to 652.33 lakh hectares as of January 16, 2026, which is 2.8 percent more than the sowing area of 631.45 lakh hectares during the same period last year.
During the week of January 9-16, Rabi crops were cultivated in approximately 8 lakh hectares across the country, with paddy being the main contributor.
On the other hand, sowing of major Rabi crops like wheat, gram, lentil, peas, barley, and mustard has been completed, and harvesting preparations will begin from February-March.
It is noteworthy that the central government has set a target of 1711.40 lakh tonnes of food grains production during the current Rabi season of 2025-26, which includes a production target of 1190 lakh tonnes of wheat, 158.60 lakh tonnes of rice, 165.70 lakh tonnes of pulses,
31.70 lakh tonnes of nutritious cereals, 145 lakh tonnes of maize, and 20.50 lakh tonnes of barley. In addition, a target of 150.70 lakh tonnes of oilseeds, including 139 lakh tonnes of mustard, has also been set.
During the week under review, there was no change in wheat sowing, and the area remained at 334.17 lakh hectares, which is 6.13 lakh hectares more than the area of 328.04 lakh hectares last year. In the 2024-25 Rabi season, domestic wheat production had increased rapidly to an all-time high of 1179.40 lakh tonnes.
The production area of Rabi pulses increased by 2.8 percent from 133.18 lakh hectares last year to 137 lakh hectares this year. Under this initiative, the area sown with chickpeas increased by 5.1 percent, from 91.22 lakh hectares to 95.88 lakh hectares, and the area under lentils improved from 17.66 lakh hectares to 18.12 lakh hectares.
Similarly, the area under oilseed crops increased by 3.8 percent, from 93.33 lakh hectares to 96.86 lakh hectares. Within this, the area sown with mustard reached 89.36 lakh hectares, which is 3.2 percent higher than last year's area of 86.57 lakh hectares.
In addition, the area under Rabi (winter) paddy increased by 11.4 percent, from 20.98 lakh hectares to 25.58 lakh hectares, the area sown with maize increased by 7.4 percent, from 25.05 lakh hectares to 27.55 lakh hectares,
and the area under barley increased by 21 percent, from 6.08 lakh hectares to 7.37 lakh hectares, which is significantly higher than the average area of 5.63 lakh hectares.