The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has released the progress report on Kharif crop sowing as of 15 August 2025. According to the data, the total sown area this season has reached 1039.81 lakh hectares, marking an increase of 37.39 lakh hectares compared to 1002.41 lakh hectares during the same period last year (2024–25).
Rice has recorded the most notable expansion this year. The crop has been sown over 398.59 lakh hectares, up from 362.92 lakh hectares in 2024. This reflects a sharp increase of 35.67 lakh hectares, positioning rice as the leading contributor to the overall rise in Kharif sowing.
Sowing of pulses has shown a marginal rise, with 109.52 lakh hectares covered so far, an increase of 1.14 lakh hectares over last year. Within this, urad has expanded by 0.92 lakh hectares, moong by 0.94 lakh hectares, and other pulses including kulthi and moth beans also recorded slight gains. However, tur (pigeon pea) acreage dropped by 1.34 lakh hectares.
Coarse cereals have been sown across 182.34 lakh hectares, which is 9.12 lakh hectares higher than last year. Maize saw the sharpest rise, with an increase of 9.82 lakh hectares. On the other hand, jowar, bajra, and ragi reported slight declines.
Decline in Oilseeds: Oilseed crops witnessed a setback, with the total area reducing to 178.64 lakh hectares, down by 6.74 lakh hectares compared to last year. Soybean acreage fell by 4.77 lakh hectares, while groundnut dropped by 2.09 lakh hectares. In contrast, castor registered a gain of 1.21 lakh hectares.
Mixed Trends in Cash Crops:
Sugarcane sowing has expanded to 57.31 lakh hectares, up 1.64 lakh hectares from last year.
Jute and mesta acreage slightly declined to 5.54 lakh hectares.
Cotton cultivation dropped to 107.87 lakh hectares, a decrease of 3.24 lakh hectares.
Overall Outlook: The Kharif season of 2025–26 reflects a positive trend in total acreage, largely driven by robust growth in rice and coarse cereals. However, reductions in oilseeds and cotton present areas of concern for the agricultural outlook.
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