Area under paddy coverage has increased by 4 per cent so far this Kharif sowing season to 4.71 lakh hectares and is expected to pick up in the coming days with the arrival of monsoon in Kerala.
According to the Agriculture Ministry data, paddy sowing was 4.71 lakh hectares as against 4.52 lakh hectares in the same period last year.
Similarly, area under oilseeds has increased to 1.21 lakh hectares from 0.94 lakh hectares.
However, the ministry said that the total sowing area, as per reports received from states, was lower at 75.10 lakh hectares so far compared with 82.27 lakh hectare in the year-ago period.
"It is reported that rice has been sown/transplanted in 4.71 lakh hectares, sugarcane in 41.58 lakh hectare and cotton in 14.30 lakh hectares," an official statement said.
However, cotton sowing fell to 14.30 lakh hectare from 17.34 lakh hectare during the period under review.
Area under coverage for sugarcane so far stood at 41.58 lakh hectare against 43.52 lakh hectare in the same period of 2014.
Meanwhile, Southwest Monsoon hit Kerala last week marking the start of the rainy season, four days after its normal onset date.
On June 2, the Met Department revised its forecast from 93 per cent to 88 per cent Long Period Average (LPA), with northwest region of the country expected to be hit the most.
Last year, the country had received 12 per cent less rains that hit production of grains, cotton and oilseeds.
Foodgrains production declined to 251.12 million tonnes in the 2014-15 crop year (July-June) from a record production of 265.04 million tonnes in the previous year.
