Kharif Crop Acreage in Gujarat Lags Significantly Behind Last Year

08-Jul-2026 08:44 PM

Ahmedabad: Due to a lack of monsoon rainfall, the pace of Kharif crop sowing in the western state of Gujarat has been quite slow. The area under Kharif crops has dropped to around 18.50 lakh hectares, which is approximately 57 percent less than the 43.10 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year. However, with good rainfall now occurring, the pace of sowing is expected to pick up. The normal average area for crops in the state for the current Kharif season is estimated at 85.30 lakh hectares; against this, sowing has been completed on only 22 percent of the area.

According to a new report by the State Agriculture Department, while the area under paddy saw a slight improvement—rising from 30,060 hectares last year to 30,435 hectares this season—the acreage for maize plummeted from 80,689 hectares to 37,101 hectares, and the area sown with pearl millet (bajra) dropped from 52,295 hectares to just 8,534 hectares.

The area under pulse crops also declined, falling from 73,162 hectares last year to 15,498 hectares this season. Specifically, the sowing area for Arhar (Tur/pigeon pea) slumped from 48,717 hectares to 14,097 hectares, the area for Moong (green gram) fell from 12,080 hectares to 540 hectares, and the acreage for Urad (black gram) shrank from 11,085 hectares to 820 hectares.

The situation for oilseed crops mirrored that of pulses. The total area under oilseed crops in Gujarat dropped from 19.40 lakh hectares last year to 6.66 lakh hectares this season. Under this, the sowing area for groundnut, in particular, shrank from 17.60 lakh hectares to 6.29 lakh hectares. There has also been a sharp decline in the acreage under soybean. Furthermore, the area under cotton cultivation in the state has dropped from 17.10 lakh hectares to 9.32 lakh hectares.