Paddy sowing up 7% so far this Kharif season

New Delhi: The area under coverage for paddy so far in the ongoing kharif (summer sown) rose 7 per cent to 166.06 lakh hectares on better monsoon rains, according to the agriculture ministry data. Paddy sowing stood at 155.65 lakh hectares till July 19 last year. Paddy is a major kharif crop.

On Friday, the Department of Agriculture released progress of area coverage under kharif crops as of July 19, 2024.

As per the data, the acreage of pulses has risen to 85.79 lakh hectares from 70.14 lakh hectares in the last season. Among pulses, the area under ‘arhar’ jumped to 33.48 lakh hectares from 19.34 lakh hectares.

However, coarse cereals sowing area is lower at 123.72 lakh hectares against 134.91 lakh hectares a year ago.

In the non-food category, the area under coverage for oilseeds is higher so far this kharif sowing season at 163.11 lakh hectares compared to 150.91 lakh hectares in the same period last year.