Sowing Area for Kharif Crops Continues to Improve

28-Jul-2026 05:11 PM

New Delhi. After a sluggish June, the southwest monsoon regained momentum in July, prompting Indian farmers to rapidly expand the area under Kharif cultivation. Consequently, the sown area began to show steady improvement, and the gap in acreage compared to the previous year narrowed to below 5 percent.

During the week ending July 24, an increase of over 3 lakh hectares in the total Kharif sown area was recorded compared to the same period last year. As a result, the deficit in sowing area—which stood at 21 percent during the week ending July 5—dropped to below 5 percent by the week ending July 24.

Agricultural scientists anticipate that the El Niño weather cycle will not have any significant or adverse impact on Kharif sowing. While sowing has already been completed on 71 percent of the area relative to the five-year average, rainfall over the next two months will still need to be closely monitored, as this period is crucial for crop development. The sowing process will continue into August.

Data from the Union Ministry of Agriculture indicates that the total Kharif sown area reached 787.38 lakh hectares by July 24 this year; this is 4.7 percent lower than the 826.19 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year and represents 71 percent of the normal average area of ​​1,100 lakh hectares.

According to official figures, Kharif crops were sown across 129.19 lakh hectares nationwide during the week of July 18–24, compared to 125.72 lakh hectares during the same period last year. Meanwhile, the overall monsoon rainfall deficit narrowed from 37 percent as of June 30 to 16 percent by July 27.