Sharp Decline in Maize and Pearl Millet Sowing Due to Low Farmer Interest

04-Aug-2026 06:20 PM

New Delhi: Indications suggest a significant drop in farmers' interest in cultivating Kharif-season coarse/nutri-cereals this year, primarily because market prices have not been attractive or profitable. Consequently, there has been a substantial reduction in the acreage for maize and pearl millet, while the area sown with sorghum (jowar) and finger millet (ragi) has also decreased.

According to official data, the total area under coarse cereal cultivation reached only 157.77 lakh hectares by the end of July 2026 during the current Kharif season; this is approximately 13 lakh hectares—or 7.5 percent—less than the 170.60 lakh hectares sown during the same period in 2025. While sowing operations are still underway in some regions, the pace is steadily slowing down.

Compared to the previous year, the area under sorghum cultivation during the current Kharif season slipped from 12.61 lakh hectares to 12.16 lakh hectares; pearl millet sowing area dropped from 61.64 lakh hectares to 57.44 lakh hectares; ragi acreage fell from 2.80 lakh hectares to 1.87 lakh hectares; and the area under maize declined from 90.15 lakh hectares to 83.56 lakh hectares. Rajasthan, the leading producer of pearl millet, saw its cultivation area for this vital coarse cereal shrink from 39.10 lakh hectares last year to 35.45 lakh hectares this year.

Sowing has declined in Gujarat as well. As for maize, the cultivation area has dropped across several states; this is largely because market prices are hovering well below the Minimum Support Price (MSP), and farmers are dissatisfied with the government's decision to raise the support price by a mere ₹10 per quintal for the 2026-27 season.