Significant Increase in Maize and Barley Sowing Area

13-Jan-2026 11:42 AM

New Delhi: Government data shows that while the area under rabi sorghum cultivation has seen a sharp decline of 1.30 lakh hectares compared to last year, the increase in the area under maize and barley has resulted in the total sowing area for coarse grains exceeding last year's figures by approximately 2 lakh hectares. Although the total area under coarse grains is quite close to the normal average area, it is still significantly behind the total sowing area of ​​the previous year.

According to the latest data from the Central Ministry of Agriculture, the total area under coarse grains/millets during the current rabi season, as of January 9, 2026, reached 55.20 lakh hectares,

which is 2.03 lakh hectares more than the 53.17 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year, but 13,000 hectares less than the five-year average area of ​​55.33 lakh hectares. The total area under coarse grains during the entire last rabi season was 59.05 lakh hectares.

Compared to the previous season, the sowing area for sorghum decreased from 22.66 lakh hectares to 21.36 lakh hectares in the current rabi season, but the area under maize increased from 23.49 lakh hectares to 25.24 lakh hectares,

and the area under barley increased from 6.08 lakh hectares to 7.36 lakh hectares. Thus, there was a significant increase of 1.75 lakh hectares in the area under maize and 1.28 lakh hectares in the area under barley.

In addition, the area under ragi also increased from 70,000 hectares to 97,000 hectares, and the sowing area for small millets improved from 10,000 hectares to 13,000 hectares,

while the sowing area for bajra remained stable at 15,000 hectares. Good sowing of maize has been reported in Bihar and barley in Rajasthan. However, production will depend on the weather conditions in the coming season.