Good increase in sowing area of soybean and groundnut
03-Aug-2024 12:21 PM
New Delhi. In the current Kharif season, the total production area of oilseed crops has increased to 179.70 lakh hectares, which is 5.15 lakh hectares more than the sowing area of 174.55 lakh hectares during the same period last year.
Soybean and groundnut have mainly contributed to this increase. Although, earlier there was a possibility of a decline in the area due to the fall in the domestic market price of soybean,
but now it seems that the enthusiasm and attraction of farmers towards its cultivation is intact.
According to the data till August 2, the total production area of soybean has increased to 123.77 lakh hectares, which is 3.26 lakh hectares more than last year's sowing area of 120.51 lakh hectares and 77 thousand hectares more than the normal average area of 123 lakh hectares.
Its sowing has increased in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, but in Rajasthan the area is lagging behind. The process of sowing soybean is still going on in some areas.
Similarly, the production area of peanuts has increased by 4.82 lakh hectares from 39.24 lakh hectares last year to 44.06 lakh hectares this time.
In both the top producing states - Gujarat and Rajasthan, as well as some other states, the area of peanuts is being reported to increase this time because the weather and rain conditions were favorable there.
The central government has increased the minimum support price of soybean by 6.3 percent to Rs 4892 per quintal and the support price of peanuts by 6.4 percent to Rs 6783 per quintal for the 2024-25 season as compared to the 2023-24 season. This has also increased the interest of farmers in the cultivation of these two oilseed crops.
On the other hand, the sowing of sesame and castor is lagging far behind last year, while the area of soybean and nigerseed has increased somewhat.
There is a report of reduction in the area of castor in Gujarat and Rajasthan, but its sowing is still going on.