Planting of the 2002 wheat and barley crops, for harvesting from November, has been completed and the area planted for each is provisionally estimated at about 125 000 hectares and 129 000 hectares respectively, close to 2001 levels. Planting of the 2002/03 maize and sorghum crops, as well as that of paddy, the important foreign exchange earner, has recently started under normal weather conditions.