Agri Ministry reports mustard sowing up 22%, wheat marginally down
According to the latest data from the agriculture ministry, the area sown with rapeseed/mustard seed crops is up 22.46% to 88.54 lakh hectares, while the area sown with wheat crops has stayed a little bit lower so far in the current 2021-22 rabi season.
It said that as of Friday, 325.88 lakh hectares had been sown with wheat, which is the main rabi crop. This is less than the 329.11 lakh hectares that had been sown at the same time last year.
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According to the data, the amount of land used to grow oilseeds has gone from 80.64 lakh hectares on December 31, 2021, to 97.07 lakh hectares on December 31, 2021. This is a big jump.
When it came to oilseeds, rapeseed and mustard seed were grown on the most land, about 88.54 lakh hectares, compared to 72.30 lakh hectares during the same time last year. The data showed that the area sown with groundnut stayed the same at 3.64 lakh hectares, with linseed at 2.57 lakh hectares, sunflower at 1.01 lakh hectares, safflower at 0.68 lakh hectares, sesamum at 0.30 lakh hectares, and other oilseeds at 0.33 lakh hectares.
A rise in the amount of land used to grow mustard seed is a good sign for a country that imports 60% of what it needs to meet its own needs and is struggling to keep retail prices down as prices rise around the world.
As of December 31, 2021, there were 152.62 lakh hectares of pulses sown, which is less than the 154.04 lakh hectares that were sown at the same time last year.
Gram, the main rabi pulse, was grown on 107.69 lakh hectares, which is a little more land than at the same time last year (105.68 lakh hectares).
So far in the rabi season of the 2021-22 crop year, 16.76 lakh hectares have been sown with lentils, 9.61 lakh hectares with field pea, 3.34 lakh hectares with kulthi, 5.66 lakh hectares with urad beans, 2.29 lakh hectares with moong bean, and 3.32 lakh hectares with lathyrus (July-June).
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The total area of coarse, nutritious cereals went from 46.19 lakh hectares to 45.05 lakh hectares, so there was less coverage. So far this rabi season, 23.17 lakh hectares of jowar have been sown, which is less than the 26.05 lakh hectares sown during the same time last year.
On the other hand, 14.80 lakh hectares of maize have been sown, which is more than the 12.89 lakh hectares sown last year. So far in the 2021-22 rabi season, 634.68 lakh hectares of land have been used for all rabi crops. This is up from 625.042 hectares at the same time last year.
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