Commodity futures rose sharply and many hit the upper circuit as the patchy monsoon heightened concerns of crop losses while the agriculture minister admitted it would be challenging to maintain the farm sector growth achieved in the past two years. Sugar, oilseeds, soyabean, chana, soyaoil and turmeric soared to their contract highs on commodities exchanges as government and industry officials said they were scaling down output estimates, with rainfall continuing to falter at the peak of the monsoon season.