The Hindu Business Line reported that India's kharif sowing area stood at 1,016.57 lakh hectares (lh) as of August 14, against 1,037.52 lh a year earlier — a deficit of about 21 lakh hectares, or less than 1 per cent. Farmers planted kharif crops on over 48 lh during August 8-14, compared with nearly 52 lh a year ago, as the monsoon turned 22 per cent deficient in that week.
Sowing pace slows on deficient monsoon
According to the Agriculture Ministry's weekly update cited by The Hindu Business Line, total area sown reached 92 per cent of the season's normal area of 1,104.46 lh. The overall deficit narrowed to less than 1 per cent from 1.8 per cent as of August 7, despite the slower weekly planting. Monsoon rainfall was 35 per cent deficient in June (revised data) and 1 per cent surplus in July; cumulative rainfall during June 1-August 17 was 13 per cent below normal, with 354 districts covered (9 added during the past week).
The overall deficit in sowing area narrowed to less than 1 per cent from 1.8 per cent as of August 7.
Paddy, pulses and oilseeds
Paddy, the main kharif cereal, was down 3.7 per cent at 379.07 lh against 393.44 lh a year ago. The deficit narrowed from 4.4 per cent until August 7, indicating better transplanting progress in the latest week. The government has set a rice production target of 123.15 million tonnes for Kharif 2026, and there may not be any significant shortfall due to higher area coverage in major growing States, the report added.
| Crop category | Area Aug 14, 2026 (lh) | Area Aug 14, 2025 (lh) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total kharif | 1,016.57 | 1,037.52 | -20.95 |
| Paddy | 379.07 | 393.44 | -3.7% |
| Pulses | 108.14 | 108.49 | -0.32% |
| Oilseeds | 184.46 | 185.36 | -0.49% |
| Nutri/coarse cereals | 172.96 | 177.13 | -2.4% |
| Cotton | 107.30 | 108.27 | -0.90% |
| Sugarcane | 58.31 | 58.62 | -0.31% |
Pulses area stood at 108.14 lh versus 108.49 lh; oilseeds at 184.46 lh versus 185.36 lh. Oilseed acreage exceeded last year's level until August 7 but slipped after August 14 due to a reduction in soybean acreage. Soybean area dropped to 120.84 lh from 122.61 lh, while groundnut rose to 48.03 lh from 47.01 lh. Among pulses, arhar fell 4 per cent to 40.31 lh from 42.01 lh; moong eased to 32.05 lh from 33.42 lh; urad rose to 23.52 lh from 20.79 lh. The government's oilseed production target for the season is 28.92 million tonnes, comprising 14.85 mt of soybean and 11.35 mt of groundnut. Cotton acreage was a notch lower at 107.30 lh versus 108.27 lh, while jute and mesta coverage rose to 6.34 lh from 6.23 lh.
Regional shifts in paddy and sugarcane
Regional data from the Agriculture Ministry showed higher paddy area in Assam (3.93 lh), Uttarakhand (0.35 lh) and Chhattisgarh (0.09 lh), while major decreases were reported in Karnataka (2.86 lh), Jharkhand (2.26 lh), Maharashtra (2.25 lh), Odisha (2.09 lh), Madhya Pradesh (1.64 lh), Telangana (1.49 lh), Tamil Nadu (1.17 lh), Andhra Pradesh (1.14 lh), West Bengal (0.87 lh), Uttar Pradesh (0.58 lh) and Bihar (0.52 lh).
Sugarcane coverage remained at 58.31 lh versus 58.62 lh year-ago, after the ministry revised the figure downward on August 7. Uttar Pradesh reported 28.97 lh against 28.61 lh, Maharashtra 11.82 lh against 11.96 lh, Karnataka 7.33 lh against 7.36 lh, Gujarat 1.9 lh against 2.02 lh, Bihar 1.89 lh against 1.96 lh, Tamil Nadu 1.34 lh against 1.38 lh and Punjab 0.81 lh against 0.95 lh.
Nutri-cereals and coarse grains
Coverage of nutri/coarse cereals was 2.4 per cent lower at 172.96 lh versus 177.13 lh last year. Jowar area rose to 13.30 lh from 12.61 lh, bajra increased to 63.98 lh from 63.29 lh, while ragi fell to 3.46 lh from 5.26 lh and maize dropped to 88.39 lh from 92.06 lh.
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