Signs of Waning Farmer Interest in Maize and Pearl Millet Cultivation

21-Jul-2026 04:15 PM

New Delhi: While the sowing of all coarse cereals—including sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), maize, and small millets—is lagging behind last year's figures, a particularly sharp decline is being observed in the acreage of pearl millet and maize. Farmers' interest in maize cultivation has waned due to the Central Government raising the Minimum Support Price (MSP) by a mere ₹10 and prevailing low market prices. Pearl millet cultivation is also failing to attract farmers, resulting in reduced interest, particularly among growers in Rajasthan.

According to official data, the total area under coarse cereal cultivation at the national level dropped by 1.506 million hectares—from 13.409 million hectares last year to 119.08 lakh hectares (11.908 million hectares)—by July 17 during the current Kharif season.

Specifically, the cultivation area for sorghum fell from 0.999 million hectares to 0.874 million hectares; the sown area for pearl millet dropped from 4.905 million hectares to 3.998 million hectares; ragi acreage slipped from 0.146 million hectares to 0.106 million hectares; and the area under maize decreased from 7.150 million hectares to 6.789 million hectares. Sowing of small millets also declined, stalling at 0.137 million hectares compared to 0.209 million hectares previously.

Rajasthan is the leading producer of pearl millet, yet it has witnessed the steepest decline in cultivation area. By July 15, the sown area for pearl millet in Rajasthan stood at 2.816 million hectares, marking a reduction of 1.041 million hectares compared to the 3.857 million hectares recorded during the same period last year.