Overview
- Official data to January 9 show total rabi coverage at 644.29 lakh hectares, up by about 1.76 million hectares from a year earlier.
- Wheat acreage increased 2% to 334.17 lakh hectares, with gains also reported in paddy (21.71 lakh ha), pulses (136.36 lakh ha), coarse cereals (55.20 lakh ha) and oilseeds (96.86 lakh ha).
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs raised MSPs for all mandated rabi crops on October 1, 2025, influencing farmers’ cropping decisions this season.
- IMD forecasts below-normal rainfall for January–March 2026 across several regions, posing a weather risk for rabi crops.
- Agricultural scientists say well‑irrigated fields should limit the impact of weak winter rains, even as gram leads the increase within pulses and rapeseed-mustard lifts oilseed coverage.