The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare released the weekly Kharif crop area coverage report as of August 21, 2026, showing total area sown at 1056.70 lakh hectares, representing a decrease of 16.07 lakh hectares compared to the same period last year (1072.77 lakh ha) and below the normal area of 1104.45 lakh hectares.
Crop-wise Performance
Rice area coverage stands at 405.10 lakh hectares, down 13.19 lakh hectares from last year's 418.29 lakh hectares. Major decreases were reported in Karnataka (-3.09 lakh ha), Telangana (-2.45 lakh ha), Jharkhand (-1.88 lakh ha), Madhya Pradesh (-1.75 lakh ha), Odisha (-1.63 lakh ha), Maharashtra (-1.50 lakh ha), Andhra Pradesh (-1.26 lakh ha), Tamil Nadu (-1.18 lakh ha), Uttar Pradesh (-0.70 lakh ha), and Gujarat (-0.27 lakh ha). Partial offsets came from increases in Assam (+2.80 lakh ha) and West Bengal (+0.36 lakh ha).
Pulses showed improvement with total area at 113.63 lakh hectares, up 1.49 lakh hectares from 112.14 lakh hectares last year. Within pulses, Tur recorded 43.86 lakh hectares (+0.42 lakh ha), Urad at 24.38 lakh hectares (+2.65 lakh ha), Moong at 32.68 lakh hectares (-1.25 lakh ha), Kulthi at 0.23 lakh hectares (-0.03 lakh ha), Moth Bean at 9.22 lakh hectares (+0.05 lakh ha), and Other Pulses at 3.27 lakh hectares (-0.36 lakh ha). Major increases came from Uttar Pradesh (+3.97 lakh ha), Telangana (+0.80 lakh ha), Jharkhand (+0.75 lakh ha), Rajasthan (+0.57 lakh ha), and Andhra Pradesh (+0.52 lakh ha), while decreases were seen in Maharashtra (-2.60 lakh ha), Karnataka (-2.22 lakh ha), and Odisha (-0.77 lakh ha).
Shree Anna & Coarse Cereals area declined to 176.36 lakh hectares, down 3.45 lakh hectares from 179.81 lakh hectares last year. Component-wise: Jowar at 13.41 lakh hectares (+0.81 lakh ha), Bajra at 64.68 lakh hectares (+1.35 lakh ha), Ragi at 4.81 lakh hectares (-1.79 lakh ha), Small Millets at 3.95 lakh hectares (-0.03 lakh ha), and Maize at 89.51 lakh hectares (-3.79 lakh ha). Major decreases occurred in Karnataka (-6.57 lakh ha) and Maharashtra (-2.53 lakh ha), partially offset by increases in Rajasthan (+2.75 lakh ha), Chhattisgarh (+1.46 lakh ha), Madhya Pradesh (+0.80 lakh ha), Odisha (+0.70 lakh ha), Uttar Pradesh (+0.63 lakh ha), Bihar (+0.72 lakh ha), and Jharkhand (+0.33 lakh ha).
Oilseeds showed minimal change at 188.37 lakh hectares, down 0.32 lakh hectares from 188.69 lakh hectares last year. Component breakdown: Groundnut at 48.79 lakh hectares (+0.57 lakh ha), Soybean at 121.35 lakh hectares (-1.41 lakh ha), Sunflower at 1.10 lakh hectares (+0.49 lakh ha), Sesamum at 10.81 lakh hectares (+1.42 lakh ha), Nigerseed at 0.33 lakh hectares (+0.11 lakh ha), Castorseed at 5.88 lakh hectares (-1.54 lakh ha), and Other Oilseeds at 0.12 lakh hectares (+0.04 lakh ha). Significant decreases in Rajasthan (-2.45 lakh ha) and Gujarat (-1.03 lakh ha) were largely offset by increases in Uttar Pradesh (+2.91 lakh ha) and Madhya Pradesh (+1.14 lakh ha).
Other Crops: Sugarcane area decreased to 58.44 lakh hectares (-0.43 lakh ha), with reductions in Bihar (-0.30 lakh ha), Uttarakhand (-0.20 lakh ha), and Maharashtra (-0.14 lakh ha) partially offset by increases in Uttar Pradesh (+0.36 lakh ha) and Haryana (+0.21 lakh ha). Jute & Mesta area increased to 6.34 lakh hectares (+0.10 lakh ha), mainly due to gains in Bihar (+0.11 lakh ha) and West Bengal (+0.06 lakh ha). Cotton area decreased marginally to 108.45 lakh hectares (-0.28 lakh ha), with reductions in Rajasthan (-1.06 lakh ha), Haryana (-0.90 lakh ha), and Punjab (-0.43 lakh ha) offset by increases in Telangana (+1.32 lakh ha), Gujarat (+0.67 lakh ha), and Karnataka (+0.14 lakh ha).