Increase in area under pulses important for bringing down food inflation; Rabi paddy acreage reduced over the years
Photo: iStock Even as the sowing of Rabi crops is almost complete across the country, the area sown with pulses was still down by over 700,000 hectares till January 19, 2024, compared to the previous year.
While total sowing of Rabi crops in 2023-24 cropping season has gained momentum, pulses still continued to lag, according to data published by the agriculture ministry. Till January 19, area sown with pulses was recorded at 15.51 million hectares, as opposed to 16.26 million hectares in the previous Rabi season.
Rabi crops are typically planted in the country until the last week of December. In comparison to the previous season, the current season's sowing area was less by 251,000 hectares. Total area sown with Rabi crops was 68.36 million hectares, compared to last year’s 68.61 million hectares.
Planting of wheat, the main crop of Rabi, has gained momentum in the last few weeks and was currently sown over 34 million hectares, up by 558,000 hectares since the last season.
The government has set a higher wheat production target of a record 114 million tonnes (MT) for the 2023-24 crop year, against an estimated output of 110.5 MT in 2022-23.
The rabi season had a delayed start this year due to erratic rainfall and deficit in soil moisture. The country has a rainfall deficit of 49 per cent and this current dry spell has been a cause of worry for farmers, as per data by India Meteorological Department.
Irrigation for Rabi crops was mostly supported through reservoirs and groundwater. Live storage available in 150 major reservoirs, as of January 18, was 99.181 billion cubic metres (BCM), which is 55 per cent of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs.
However, last year, the live storage available in these reservoirs for the corresponding period was 121.202 BCM and the average live storage of the last 10 years was 104.29 BCM.
Among pulses, gram (chana) cultivation has been affected the most. The crop is primarily sown during the Rabi season. States like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Jharkhand have reported a decrease in gram acreage.
An increase in area under pulses is important for bringing down food inflation, which is currently mainly being driven by paddy, pulses and vegetables.
The area of paddy grown in the Rabi season over the years has also reduced. Although paddy is planted in only a few areas in the Rabi season, its normal (average area in last five years) acreage is about 5.25 million hectares. But Rabi rice has seen a significant reduction over the years. This time, area under the crop was recorded at 2.82 million hectares, down by 109,000 hectares from 2022-23.
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