Farmers in India planted kharif crops across nearly 107 lakh hectares (lh) during the July 25–31 week, helped by a 23% surplus in rainfall over the previous week, according to the Agriculture Ministry's weekly update published on Monday. The spurt in planting narrowed the overall kharif sowing deficit to less than 3%, down from 5% until July 24, with total area coverage at 894.22 lh as of July 31 compared with 920.72 lh a year ago — a reduction of 2.9%.
Sowing deficit narrows
The cumulative area sown in the ongoing kharif season stands at 81% of the normal area of 1,104.46 lh, the Agriculture Ministry reported. The weekly addition of 107 lh compares with 94.5 lh planted in the same week a year earlier. With soil moisture conditions improved by the surplus rain, the gap between current and year-ago coverage narrowed to 2.9%.
Key finding: Kharif sowing covered 81% of the season's normal area of 1,104.46 lakh hectares as of July 31, with the overall deficit now below 3%, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
Rainfall and monsoon progress
A 23% surplus in rainfall during the week preceding the update created suitable conditions for sowing, the ministry noted. India Meteorological Department (IMD) data show the overall monsoon deficit narrowed to 12% during June 1–August 3, from 35% (as per revised data) in June alone. Rainfall in July was 1% above normal, supporting transplanting and direct sowing of kharif crops.
Crop-wise coverage
The main kharif cereal, paddy, was sown on 301.49 lh, down 2.2% from 308.39 lh last year. All pulses covered 95.18 lh against 101.6 lh a year ago, with the pulses deficit narrowing to 6.3% from 7.5% in the previous week. Oilseeds acreage, at 172.32 lh, exceeded the year-ago level of 171.13 lh for the first time this season, after running 2% deficient until July 24.
| Crop | Area as of July 31, 2026 (lh) | Year-ago area (lh) |
|---|---|---|
| Paddy | 301.49 | 308.39 |
| Total pulses | 95.18 | 101.60 |
| Arhar (pigeon pea) | 34.91 | 38.44 |
| Moong (green gram) | 29.22 | 32.23 |
| Urad (black gram) | 21.08 | 19.04 |
| Oilseeds (total) | 172.32 | 171.13 |
| Soybean | 117.68 | 118.52 |
| Groundnut | 43.06 | 41.90 |
| Cotton | 103.54 | 106.06 |
| Sugarcane | 57.58 | 56.72 |
| Nutri/coarse cereals | 157.77 | 170.60 |
| Maize | 83.56 | 90.15 |
Among pulses, arhar (pigeon pea) showed the sharpest fall, down 9% to 34.91 lh from 38.44 lh, while moong slipped to 29.22 lh from 32.23 lh and urad rose to 21.08 lh from 19.04 lh, the ministry's data showed. In oilseeds, soybean eased to 117.68 lh from 118.52 lh, while groundnut rose to 43.06 lh from 41.90 lh. Cotton acreage was 2% lower at 103.54 lh versus 106.06 lh. Sugarcane sowing has been completed at 57.58 lh, up from 56.72 lh, and jute and mesta coverage ended at 6.33 lh versus 6.21 lh.
Coarse cereals and nutri-cereals lagged, with total coverage down 7.5% at 157.77 lh against 170.6 lh. Jowar stood at 12.16 lh versus 12.61 lh, bajra at 57.44 lh versus 61.64 lh, ragi at 1.87 lh versus 2.8 lh and maize at 83.56 lh versus 90.15 lh.
Government production targets
The government has set a kharif 2026 production target of 123.15 million tonnes (mt) of rice, and the ministry said there may not be any significant shortfall even if paddy acreage ends up a notch below 2025, due to higher area coverage in major growing states. Total foodgrains output is targeted at 176.16 mt, including 8.4 mt of pulses, 31.04 mt of maize and 13.56 mt of nutri cereals.
For oilseeds, the target is 28.92 mt, with soybean pegged at 14.85 mt and groundnut at 11.35 mt. With pulses coverage still trailing last year's level, the next weekly update from the Agriculture Ministry will provide further clarity on whether the sowing deficit continues to close.
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