The total area sown under rabi crops in the ongoing winter season has increased to 634.14 lakh hectares as of January 2, marking a rise of 16.4 lakh hectares compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The increase from 617.74 lakh hectares last year is expected to support higher agricultural output, improve farm incomes and help contain food inflation.
Official figures show that the area under wheat has risen to 334.17 lakh hectares, up from 328.04 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year. Sowing under pulses, including urad, lentil (masur), gram and moong, has increased by 3.44 lakh hectares to 134.3 lakh hectares.
The area under coarse cereals or millets such as jowar, bajra and ragi has grown to 51.79 lakh hectares, compared to 50.66 lakh hectares a year earlier. Oilseeds, including rapeseed and mustard, have also recorded an increase, with the sown area rising to 96.3 lakh hectares from 93.27 lakh hectares last year.
The higher sowing area has been attributed to better monsoon rainfall, which supported crop planting in unirrigated regions that account for nearly half of the country’s agricultural land.
To ensure remunerative prices for farmers, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all mandated rabi crops for the 2026–27 marketing season on October 1, 2025. MSPs are announced well before the sowing season to enable farmers to plan cropping patterns and maximise returns.
The highest MSP hike was announced for safflower at ₹600 per quintal, followed by lentil (masur) at ₹300 per quintal. MSPs for rapeseed and mustard and wheat were raised by ₹250 per quintal each, gram by ₹225 per quintal, and barley by ₹170 per quintal.
The MSP increases are in line with the Union Budget 2018–19 policy of fixing support prices at a minimum of 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production. The expected margin over production cost is 109 per cent for wheat, 93 per cent for rapeseed and mustard, 89 per cent for lentil, 59 per cent for gram, 58 per cent for barley and 50 per cent for safflower.
The cost of production includes expenses on labour, machinery, seeds, fertilisers, irrigation, fuel, depreciation, interest on working capital and the imputed value of family labour, the ministry said.
