Increase in Sowing Area of ​​Most Oilseed Crops

28-Jan-2026 04:20 PM

New Delhi. Compared to the previous season, the sowing area of ​​most oilseed crops – mustard, groundnut, sunflower, linseed, and safflower – has increased during the current Rabi season, bringing the total cultivated area to 96.86 lakh hectares.

This is significantly higher than last year's total sown area of ​​93.49 lakh hectares and the five-year average area of ​​86.78 lakh hectares. Sowing of oilseeds has been completed.

According to official figures, the national-level mustard cultivation area has increased from 86.57 lakh hectares last year to 89.36 lakh hectares this year.

Mustard alone accounts for approximately 90 percent of the total Rabi oilseed crop area. This year, not only has the sowing area increased, but the weather has also been favorable. However, there are reports of hailstorms in limited areas, which may cause partial damage to the crop.

The Union Ministry of Agriculture has set a production target of 139 lakh tonnes of mustard for the 2025-26 Rabi season, which is significantly higher than the final revised production of 126.41 lakh tonnes in 2024-25.

Besides mustard, the cultivated area for groundnut has increased from 3.37 lakh hectares to 3.52 lakh hectares, sunflower from 53 thousand hectares to 64 thousand hectares, linseed from 1.76 lakh hectares to 1.99 lakh hectares, and safflower from 67 thousand hectares to 89 thousand hectares.