New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) The total area sown under kharif crops in the current season has increased by 37.39 lakh hectares to 1,039.81 lakh hectares, as on August 15 this year, compared with the corresponding figure of 1,002.41 lakh hectares in the same period last year, data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on Monday showed.

The increase in sown area augurs is expected to lead to higher production, which, in turn, would increase the incomes of farmers and also help to keep food inflation in check.

The official figures show that the area under rice is 398.59 lakh hectares, so far this year, compared with 325.36 lakh hectares during the same period last year.

The area under pulses, such as urad and moong and others, has gone up to 109.52 lakh hectares as compared to 108.39 lakh hectares during the same period last year.

The area covered under coarse cereals or millets such as jowar, bajra, and ragi has shot up to 182.34 lakh hectares during the current season so far, from 173.22 lakh hectares in the same period of the previous year.

The sown area has gone up in the current season as better monsoon rains have facilitated the sowing in unirrigated areas of the country, which account for close to 50 per cent of the country’s farmland.

The area under sugarcane has also increased to 55.16 lakh hectares from 54.88 lakh hectares in the same period of the previous year.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on May 28 this year, approved an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for 14 kharif crops for the marketing season 2025-26 to ensure remunerative prices to the growers for their crops and incentivise production.

The highest absolute increase in MSP over the previous year has been recommended for nigerseed (Rs 820 per quintal), followed by ragi (Rs 596 per quintal), cotton (Rs 589 per quintal), and sesamum (Rs 579 per quintal).

–IANS

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