The Hindu Business Line : Acreages under most rabi crops gain

New Delhi, Dec. 5 In a further signal of easing inflationary pressures in the economy, acreages under most rabi crops currently being planted are significantly higher compared to last year’s levels.

This, the Government hopes, would pave the way for a softening of food prices in the coming months, on top of the reductions effected in fuel prices on Friday.

According to the Agriculture Ministry’s latest Crop Weather Watch Report, released here on Friday, farmers have so far planted 173.70 lakh hectares (lh) under wheat, against the 154.27 lh covered during the corresponding period of last year. Higher acreages have also been reported for other cereals, including maize (5.02 lh against 4.04 lh), barley (5.15 lh against 4.38 lh) and jowar (45.87 lh against 42.43 lh).

Oilseeds

Progressive sowing under rabi oilseeds and pulses, too, are higher at 82.02 lh and 109.086 lh, respectively, compared to last year’s corresponding acreages of 74.05 lh and 95.501 lh.

Among individual oilseeds, there has been an increase in area under rapeseed-mustard (62.29 lh versus 55.32 lh), sunflower (8.84 versus 7.78), groundnut (3.41 versus 3.28) and sesamum (0.64 versus 0.55), along with decreases in safflower (2.56 versus 2.73) and linseed (3.47 versus 3.73).

In pulses, acreages have gone up in respect of gram (71.066 lh versus 61.252 lh), lentil (12.422 versus 10.272), peas (7.508 versus 5.295) and lathyrus (4.014 versus 3.443), while lagging behind in urad (3.72 versus 4.768), moong (1.743 versus 2.263) and kulthi (4.170 versus 4.449).

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