New Delhi, Jun 17: The area under the ongoing kharif crop sowing has gone up to 89.29 lakh hectares so far this year compared to 87.81 lakh hectares in the same period last year, data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on Tuesday showed.

The increase of 1.48 lakh hectares in sown area in the early part of the season augurs well for 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, the sowing of which has just got underway, is 4.53 lakh hectares as on June 13 this year, as compared to 4 lakh hectares during the same period last year.

The area under pulses such as urad and moong has been reported at 3.07 lakh hectares as compared to 2.6 lakh hectares during the same period last year. This increase of 0.49 lakh hectares in the early part of the season is a good beginning, as an increase in the production of pulses plays a key role in controlling inflation.

The area sown under oilseeds as on June 13 this year has also gone up to 2.05 lakh hectares from 1.5 lakh hectares in the same period last year.

The area covered under coarse cereals or millets such as jowar, bajra, and ragi has touched the 5.89 lakh hectare mark so far.

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 Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on May 28, 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).

The increase in MSP for kharif crops for the 2025-26 marketing season is in line with the policy of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times of the all-India weighted average cost of production, The expected margin to farmers over their cost of production are estimated to be highest in case of bajra (63 per cent) followed by maize (59 per cent), tur (59 per cent) and urad (53 per cent ). For the rest of the crops, the margin to farmers over their cost of production is estimated to be at 50 per cent.

The total cost includes all paid out costs such as those incurred on account of hired human labour, bullock labour/machine labour, rent paid for leased in land, expenses incurred on use of material inputs like seeds, fertilisers, manures, irrigation charges, depreciation on implements and farm buildings, interest on working capital, diesel/electricity for operation of pump sets etc., miscellaneous expenses, and imputed value of family labour.

(IANS)

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