Peanut and Cotton Dominate Kharif Acreage in Gujarat

31-Jul-2025 11:30 AM

Ahmedabad. Gujarat, located in the western part of the country, is the most important producer of cotton and peanut. In the current Kharif season, the production area of both these crops has reached more than 20 lakh hectares.

The Agriculture Minister of Gujarat says that this time, due to the timely arrival of monsoon and good rains in the Saurashtra and Kutch divisions of the state as well as in the northern part, the farmers got a good opportunity to choose their favorite crops and show enthusiasm in sowing them.

In Gujarat, sowing of Kharif crops has been completed in about 60 lakh hectares of land, which is 77 percent of the normal average area of 85 lakh hectares.

This time, farmers are showing more interest in peanut cultivation, due to which its production area has increased by 15 percent beyond the five-year average area.

Till July 30, the total production area of Kharif oilseed crops in the state has increased to 24.25 lakh hectares, which is about one lakh hectares more than last year.

Apart from this, this time the cultivation of grain crops including paddy has been completed in 9.79 lakh hectares, pulses crops in 2.52 lakh hectares and fodder crops in 6.46 lakh hectares. According to the Agriculture Minister, Gujarat is the highest producer of cotton and groundnut in the country.

Cotton is cultivated in the largest area in the state, followed by groundnut. However, this time a decline in the sowing area of cotton is seen as compared to last year.

Crops like paddy, jowar, castor, sesame and soybean are also cultivated on a large scale in Gujarat. It is worth mentioning that Gujarat also ranks first in the production of castor.

More rain is expected in the state during the coming weeks, due to which the sowing area of Kharif crops can improve regularly. More than 50 percent of Gujarat's population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture and allied sectors for their livelihood.