Farmers across the country had sown bajra across 9,700 ha in the ongoing rabi season, up 27.6% on year. The rise in acreage is primarily due to farmers shifting to bajra from water-intensive crops such as wheat and mustard. So far, the sowing has started only in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, with the former accounting for the highest share of the acreage. In Tamil Nadu, the area under bajra was at 9,500 ha, up from 5,200 ha a year ago