Planting of key rabi, or winter, crops such as wheat and rapeseed mustard is yet to gain momentum as poor soil moisture levels and a delayed harvest of kharif crop is seen impacting the pace of sowing.

“As per preliminary reports received from the States, the total area sown under rabi crops as on November 27 stands at 317.96 lakh hectares (lh),” said an Agriculture Ministry statement.

The rabi acreage, so far, this year is lower by 14.7 per cent over corresponding last year’s 372.61 lh.

Except for coarse cereals, rabi acreages of wheat, pulses, oilseeds and rice are trailing this year over corresponding levels in the year-ago period.

Besides the poor soil moisture and reservoir levels due to a deficient monsoon, the delay in harvest of kharif crops such as rice has also contributed to the delay in rabi plantings.

Wheat, the main rabi cereal crop has been planted in about 117.32 lh – down 27 per cent over corresponding last year’s 161.57 lh. Pulses have been planted on 90.91 lh (97.80 lh), while the oilseeds acreage stood at 57.08 lh (65.73 lh) in the corresponding previous year. Coarse cereals acreage stood higher at 44.40 lh against 37.48 lh in the previous year. Also the rice acreage is lower at 8.26 lh (10.04 lh).

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has said that the slow pace in rabi plantings was not a cause for concern.

Sowing operations will pick up soon in key growing States of Punjab and Haryana,” Singh said at an event in Delhi

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