Area under millets except bajra lower than last year this season

The sowing of kharif crops in the country is almost over, and farmers will be watching weather patterns over the next few weeks.

Despite the all-round push to promote millets (now called as “Shree Ann”), sowing in this respect hasn’t picked up as strongly except for bajra to some extent.

Jowar, along with bajra and ragi, constitutes almost 70 per cent of the millets produced in the country.

The latest data from the Department of Agriculture shows that till September 15, jowar and ragi struggled to reach even the normal acreage, which is the average area covered under a particular crop in the last five years. Till September 15, bajra was sown in around 7.08 million hectares, which is less than 1 per cent more than the area covered during the same period last year, but 3.28 per cent less than the normal acreage under bajra. The acreage under jowar is around 1.42 million hectares, which is 9 per cent less than the area covered during the same period last year and almost 18 per cent less than the normal area under the crop.

Till September 15 ragi was sown in around 880,000 hectares, which is 5.38 per cent less than the area covered during the same period last year and over 19 per cent short of the normal.

The sowing of jowar and bajra is down largely in Rajasthan and that of ragi is less in Karnataka, the data showed. Meanwhile, on the monsoon, the India Meteorological Department in its latest forecast said monsoons would become active over Central India and western parts of the country over the next few days.