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The area under coverage for summer crops in India is marginally down at 69.20 lakh hectares, according to the latest data released by the agriculture ministry.
During the same period of 2022, it was at 70.39 lakh hectares. The sowing area under pulses and coarse cereals is higher year-on-year, while the acreage of rice and oilseeds is lower, the ministry's data showed. Coming to pulses and coarse cereals, the area increased from 18.44 lakh hectares to 19.61 lakh hectares, and 11.3 lakh hectares to 11.7 lakh hectares, data showed. For rice and oilseeds, they declined from 29.80 lakh hectares to 27.89 lakh hectares and from 10.85 lakh hectares to 9.96 lakh hectares. Green gram, jowar, bajra, ragi, maize, groundnut, sunflower, and sesamum are some of the major summer crops. India has three cropping seasons -- summer, kharif, and rabi. Crops that are sown during October and November and the produce harvested from January-March depending on maturity is Rabi. Crops sown during June-July and harvested in October-November are kharif. Crops produced between rabi and kharif are summer crops. Separately, the Union agriculture ministry has set a target of a record 3,320 lakh tonnes (332 million tonnes) production of foodgrains for the year 2023-24 as against the latest estimate of 3,235 lakh tonnes produced the previous year. Target for the production of pulses has been fixed at 292.5 lakh tonnes compared to 278.1 lakh tonnes this year and oilseeds production will be increased from 400 lakh tonnes to 440 lakh tonnes in 2023-24. The target for millet production for 2023-24 has been set at 170 lakh tonnes from 159.1 lakh tonnes in 2022-23. The government had said its strategy would be to increase crop area through inter-cropping, crop diversification, and productivity enhancement by introducing higher-yield seeds and adopting suitable agronomic practices in low-yielding regions. (ANI)
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