NEW DELHI: Despite a dry winter, India has experienced robust growth in Rabi sowing. The total area covered has increased by 1.765 million hectares compared to last year, reaching an overall Rabi crop coverage of 6.4429 million hectares. This indicates steady progress for a season that is nearing its end. In contrast, the average normal sowing area for the Rabi season over the past five years is 6.353 million hectares.
Experts attribute the increase in sowing areas to a bountiful monsoon that maintained soil humidity. India recorded above-normal monsoon rains, totalling 108% of average rainfall between June and September 2025. This helped fill almost all of the country's reservoirs to capacity, despite the unusually dry conditions during winter (December 2025 to January 2026).
The most significant growth has been observed in wheat sowing areas, which expanded by 613,000 hectares. So far, wheat has been sown over 3.3417 million hectares, compared to 3.2804 million hectares during the same period last year. The average normal sowing area for wheat over the past five years is 3.1235 million hectares.
Wheat experts are concerned that a dry winter may cause warmer temperatures in early February, potentially impacting wheat production. They hope for rainfall that could further maintain soil moisture and promote better flowering.
However, the lack of winter rainfall has negatively affected Rabi paddy sowing, which has only reached 217,100 hectares—almost half of the average acreage for the Rabi season.
On a positive note, there has been an increase in the sowing area for pulses and oilseeds, which has relieved food policymakers since the country relies on imports of these crops to meet domestic needs. So far this year, the sowing area for pulses has increased by 374,000 hectares, while oilseed areas have grown by 353,000 hectares compared to the previous year.
Within the pulses category, growth has been uneven. Gram has seen a notable increase of 466,000 hectares and lentils registered an increase of 45,000 hectares; however, other pulses such as urad, moong, kulthi, and field peas have experienced sharp declines.
Conversely, most categories of oilseed sowing areas have increased. Significant growth has been recorded in rapeseed and mustard, followed by linseed and safflower. The total area sown with oilseeds this year reached 893,600 hectares, compared to 865,700 hectares last year. However, the area for rapeseed and mustard was above 1 million hectares a few years ago.
Groundnut acreage has reached 352,000 hectares, which is 15,000 hectares higher than the previous year but still below the average acreage of 369,000 hectares.