Area of rabi cultivation increase 1.5% this year

The area of rabi crop cultivation as of December 12, has increased from the previous year's 438.63 lakh hectare, to 445.8 lakh hectare in 2005 (1.5 per cent). According to sources at the ministry of agriculture, the normal cultivation area is of 555.4 lakh hectare.

Rapeseed and mustard cultivation areas led the growth from 64.48 lakh hectare in 2004, to 69.48 lakh hectare this year, as against the normal area of 51 lakh hectare.

A significant growth was also witnessed in wheat and oilseeds from 176.68 lakh hectare in 2004 to 180.65 lakh hectare this year and 90.03 lakh hectare to 93.12 lakh hectare respectively, as against the normal area of 263 lakh hectare and 78 lakh hectare respectively.

The least growth was witnessed in sesame, from 0.75 lakh hectare in 2004 to 0.84 lakh hectare this year, as against the normal cultivation area of 16 lakh hectare, followed by maize from 5.18 lakh hectare to 5.91 lakh hectare in 2005, as against the normal cultivation area of 7 lakh hectare.

The largest loser was jowar, which lost about 3.11 lakh hectare in 2005 from 51.33 lakh hectare in 2004, against the normal area of 51 lakh hectare.

As far as loss in cultivation area goes, coarse cereals almost reached completion and remained on second position, which lost 1.82 lakh hectare from 63.17 lakh hectare in 2004, as against the normal area of 65 lakh hectare.

Area under pulses is close to the normal area of 109 lakh hectare. There has been a marginal over sowing of gram, with area under cultivation having crossed the normal area by one lakh hectare by December 12.

Sowing of oilseeds, which had already exceeded normal cultivated area by 11 lakh hectare in the previous week, continued to extend its coverage by another 4 lakh hectare to 93.12 lakh hectare.

However, both groundnut and sunflower were marginally below last year's superior coverage.