Notwithstanding a sluggish monsoon and farmer unrest in different parts of the country, agriculture is picking up momentum, with all crops other than pulses showing an upswing in the sowing area.

According to data released by the Union Agriculture Ministry on Friday, there has been a 10 per cent increase in the area under cultivation so far, with sowing completed over 130.74 lakh hectares as compared to 119.28 lakh ha in the corresponding period last year.

There has been a substantial increase in acreage under oilseeds, cotton and sugarcane, in particular, whereas sowing of pulses has taken a major beating likely because of a drastic drop in prices.

There is a slight increase in the area under paddy as well as coarse cereals, as compared to last year. The area under oilseeds recorded a spectacular 55 per cent increase in acreage to 11.24 lakh ha this week from 7.23 lakh ha in the corresponding period last year, thanks to renewed interest among farmers in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

But the acreage is substantially less than the normal level for the corresponding week, which is 13.26 lakh ha.

Cotton up but below par

The area under cotton, too, rose an impressive 30 per cent to 24.70 lakh ha over the previous year’s 19.07 lakh ha, with farmers in Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat preferring the cash crop.

The area under cotton, however, is almost 10 lakh ha less than normal for the week.

The area under pulses, on the other hand, was down by a third to 5.97 lakh ha from a high of 9 lakh ha in 2016.

Punjab and Uttarakhand led the way in pushing the acreage under paddy up by almost 0.75 lakh ha, from 15.97 lakh ha (2016) to 16.70 lakh ha.

The area under sugarcane, too, rose marginally to 47.52 lakh ha from 44.82 lakh ha in the corresponding week last year.

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