Rabi Seeding Progress Behind Normal
VANCOUVER - Nov 7/14 - SNS -- Seeding of this year's rabi season crops is off to a slow start compared to last year, with land in all crops down sharply.
It is important to note that India's agriculture department is not directly comparing progress reports issued 52 weeks ago, but it using unpublished data for their comparison. Even so, it is also reporting an overall decrease.
Land in oilseeds now totals 3.136 million hectares, up from 2.889 million last year; while land in wheat is down sharply at just 447,000 hectares. The jump in oilseed coverage is not surprising, given earlier efforts by India's agriculture minister to encourage farmers to plant more of the crop to avoid shortages on domestic markets.
The agriculture department reports farmers have so far planted 2.398 million hectares of pulses, including 1.615 million hectares of gram or desi chickpeas.
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