Significant increase in area sown under maize and small millets
07-Oct-2025 08:35 PM
New Delhi. New data released after the completion of the Kharif sowing campaign indicates that, as expected, Indian farmers have shown tremendous enthusiasm for maize cultivation among coarse grains.
The acreage under small millets has also increased. On the other hand, the acreage under sorghum, bajra, and ragi lagged slightly behind last year. There are also reports of partial damage to coarse grain crops due to heavy rainfall and severe floods in some states.
According to the latest weekly data from the Union Agriculture Ministry, the domestic area under kharif coarse grain production increased by 11.13 lakh hectares from 183.54 lakh hectares last year to 194.67 lakh hectares, representing an increase of approximately 14 lakh hectares over the five-year average of 180.71 lakh hectares. This is the figure for 3 August 2025.
Compared to last year, during the current Kharif season, although the area under sorghum declined from 14.21 lakh hectares to 14.07 lakh hectares, the area under millet declined from 68.65 lakh hectares to 68.44 lakh hectares, and the area under ragi declined from 11.96 lakh hectares to 11.81 lakh hectares,
maize production jumped by 10.65 lakh hectares from 84.30 lakh hectares to a new record level of 94.95 lakh hectares, which is 16 lakh hectares more than the five-year average area of 78.95 lakh hectares. The area under other small millets increased by 4.42 lakh hectares.
A strong increase in maize cultivation was already anticipated due to strong domestic demand and prices, and farmers are also receiving attractive returns from it.
With the exception of a few states, all major maize-growing states, including Maharashtra, have seen significant increases in acreage planted with corn.
Farmers there have reduced acreage under soybean and cotton to support maize. While heavy rainfall and flooding in Maharashtra and Rajasthan have impacted coarse grain harvests, a robust national production, especially of maize, is still anticipated.