Oilseed cultivation picks up pace, peanut and sesame sowing increases; expected to reach 20 million hectares
The area under oilseed sowing in the Kharif season is gradually returning to normal levels. As of Friday, it reached 18.02 million hectares, an increase from last year. If the monsoon remains favorable in August, this area is expected to reach 20 million hectares. Sowing of peanuts and sesame has increased, while sowing of castor is declining. After lagging for the first two months, the area under oilseed sowing in the Kharif season is now increasing towards normal levels. As of Friday, the total area under oilseeds in the country reached 180.20 lakh hectares, an increase of about 3 percent compared to the previous level. According to officials, if the monsoon remains favorable in August, the area under oilseeds could reach normal levels of about 200 lakh hectares. This has raised hopes that the area under oilseeds sowing in Kharif 2026 will reach the government's target. According to government data, the government has set an oilseed acreage target of 206.45 lakh hectares and a production target of 289.25 lakh tons for Kharif 2026. This includes 113.50 lakh tons for peanuts, 148.50 lakh tons for soybeans, 21.50 lakh tons for castor seeds, and 4.20 lakh tons for sesame. In the last Kharif season i.e. 2025, the production of oilseeds was 266.68 lakh tonnes and its area was 196.38 lakh hectares. Groundnut and sesame sowing increased, castor acreage decreased According to the data, till Friday, the area under groundnut was 46.82 lakh hectares, which is 8.6 percent more than last year. The area under soybean was 119.92 lakh hectares, registering an increase of 0.2 percent. The area under sesame was 9.96 lakh hectares, which is 16.9 percent more. On the contrary, the area under castor seed has decreased by 23 percent to 2.27 lakh hectares. In Gujarat, the largest producer of castor, its area has decreased by 44 percent to 1.3 lakh hectares. Good rains in July compensate, monsoon is crucial in August According to data, this is the fourth season since the launch of the Oilseeds Mission in Rabi 2024. The area under oilseeds was low in the first two seasons, while in the last Rabi season, the area under oilseeds increased due to strong mustard prices in the markets. Acreage under cultivation was also expected to decline at the beginning of this Kharif season, but good rainfall in July compensated for the initial shortfall, and now the area under cultivation has reached above previous levels. Rainfall in June was 35 percent below normal, while July recorded 1 percent more rainfall. Rainfall in the first week of August was 4 percent below normal. From June 1 to August 7, the total monsoon rainfall across the country was 11 percent below normal. What was the rainfall situation in major oilseed producing states? In the first week of August, rainfall in Madhya Pradesh was 56 percent below normal, Maharashtra 25 percent below, and Rajasthan 20 percent below normal. However, according to officials, these three states received sufficient rainfall for oilseed crops in the last week of July. In contrast, in the first week of August, Gujarat recorded 60 percent more rainfall than normal, Tamil Nadu 45 percent more, Karnataka 24 percent more, and Uttar Pradesh 36 percent more rainfall. In Telangana, rainfall in the first week of August was 22 percent below normal, but the entire season's rainfall since June 1 is only 5 percent below normal.
Source: https://www.gaonconnection.com/rural-news/oilseed-sowing-surges-groundnut-and-sesame-cultivation-increases-expected-to-exceed-200-lakh-hectares/articleshow/133050318.html