New Delhi (NVI): The central government today said over 81 per cent of wheat sown area has been harvested while harvest of pulses and oilseeds has been completed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
The Agriculture Ministry said, “As a result of the timely intervention by government, harvesting of rabi crops is on schedule and timely procurement is also being ensured for the benefit of the farmers.”
It said that amidst the current pandemic situation, farmers and agriculture labourers are sweating and toiling against all adversities to make sure that food reaches our homes.
“Of the Rabi crop harvesting, out of total wheat sown in 315.80 lakh ha, 81.55% has already been harvested in the country,” the ministry said.
As per the data, state-wise harvesting has also increased and reached 99% in Rajasthan, 96% in Madhya Pradesh, 80% in Uttar Pradesh, 65% in Haryana and 60% in Punjab.
“Harvesting is at its peak in Haryana, Punjab and UP and is likely to be completed by the end of April 2021,” it added.
Of the pulses sown in 158.10 lakh ha, harvesting has been completed for gram, lentil, urd, mung and field pea.
For sugarcane, out of the total sown in 48.52 lakh ha (Sugar season 2020-21), harvesting has been completed in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Telangana.
For the states of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, 92-98% harvesting has been completed.
In Uttar Pradesh, 84% has been completed and this will continue till mid-May 2021.
Rice (winter) sown in 45.32 lakh ha over the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura and West Bengal, 18.73 lakh ha has been harvested.
The rest is in milking to harvesting stage. Rabi rice harvesting is almost complete in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Amongst the oilseed crops, Rapeseed Mustard which was sown in around 70 lakh ha, 100 % has been harvested in the states of Rajasthan, UP, MP, WB, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Assam.
It is almost complete in Haryana (99.95%) and for Punjab, around 77% has been harvested. For Groundnut which has been sown in 7.34 lakh ha, 62.53% harvested.
The ministry said, “Thus, the harvesting of crops is on schedule and the efforts of the farmers need to be lauded and recognized.”
–PRT
