With a coverage of about 10 lakh hectares (lh) in the past week, the overall acreage of rabi crops reached 644.29 lh as of January 9, which is 2.8 per cent higher than 626.64 lh a year ago. The area has exceeded the winter season’s average 637.81 lh, the government said on Monday.
Wheat acreage seem have been completed with no progress reported in the past week as acreage remained at 334.17 lh, same as on January 2. Last year, the acreage of wheat was at a record high of 328.04 lh which also led to a new high in production of 117.94 million tonnes (mt).
The government has fixed a target of 171.14 mt of foodgrains for the rabi season, including 119 mt of wheat, 15.86 mt of rice, 16.57 mt of pulses, 3.17 mt of nutri-cereals, 14.5 mt of maize and 2.05 mt of barley, as well as 15.07 mt of oilseeds (including 13.9 mt of mustard).
