Wheat sowing area touches 33 million hectare, raises hopes of record output

NEW DELHI: Higher than normal wheat sowing in states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the area sown to wheat has touched over 33 million hectare – 11% higher than last year’s wheat acreage of 29.6 million hectare.
“Due to good monsoon this year, water storage in major reservoirs is 155% more than last year leading to availability of better irrigation facilities. This has prompted farmers to sow wheat across more area. We expect a record production – more than last year’s output of 102 million tonnes,” said a senior agriculture department official.

According to latest data released by agriculture department, the overall area has also gone up by 8.5% to 64.1 million ha, raising hopes of a bumper Rabi harvest.

“Rise in acreage is seen in almost all the crops. The acreage of pulses has risen by 5.2% while area under coarse cereals has increased by 13.5%. Cold weather along with rains is good for most of the crops,” the official said.

The area under rice has also risen substantially by 18%. There are reports that rice, which is mainly a summer crop, is likely to see a drop in output by 10% due to incessant rains in the latter half of monsoon this year.

“Increase in rice are in Rabi may result into good production, which is likely to narrow down the deficit caused by drop in kharif production. Overall, rice production is likely to see a dip this year,” the official said.