Rabi sowing picks up pace, rises 4%

SOWING OF RABI or winter crops such as wheat, pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereals continues to gather pace across the country on robust soil moisture due to surplus monsoon rainfall and higher prices.

- SANDIP DAS

The total area covered under rabi crops has increased 4.12% to 42.88 million hectare (Mha), as 68% of the sowing is complete, according to data from the agriculture ministry released on Monday.

Wheat, the main rabi crop, has been sown in 20.03 million hectare (Mha), an increase of 6.5% over last year. Sowing of wheat with late sown varieties will continue till the first week of January, according to the ministry data.

The area covered under pulses - gram, masoor and urad - is up 3.6% at 10.89 Mha and is likely to surpass the normal sown area of 14.04 Mha due to high remunerative prices received by the farmers last year.