The increase in the sowing area of ​​oilseed crops has now started shrinking

21-Aug-2024 04:41 PM

New Delhi. Although at the national level, the area of ​​Kharif oilseed crops is still ahead of last year, but the scope of increase in it has remained quite limited.

According to government data, till August 20, 2024, the total production area of ​​oilseeds was recorded at 186.77 lakh hectares, which is only 1.64 lakh hectares more than the sowing area of ​​185.13 lakh hectares during the same period last year.

This is the situation when compared to last year, this time the production area of ​​soybean has increased from 123.85 lakh hectares to 125.11 lakh hectares and the sowing area of ​​groundnut has jumped from 42.61 lakh hectares to 46.36 lakh hectares.

The area of ​​sunflower has improved from 65 thousand hectares to 70 thousand hectares and the sowing area of ​​Niger Seed has improved from 24 thousand hectares to 27 thousand hectares.

In fact, the sowing of sesame and castor is lagging behind last year. The area of ​​sesame has fallen from 11.35 lakh hectares to 10.55 lakh hectares and the area of ​​castor has fallen from 6.38 lakh hectares to 3.74 lakh hectares. Its sowing is still going on in top producing states like Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Earlier, there was a fear of a 5-10 percent decline in the sowing area of ​​soybean because its market price had fallen much below the government support price, but on the contrary, its area is ahead of last year at the beginning of the season itself.

After lagging behind in the initial stage, sowing of groundnut has gradually recovered and is now 3.75 lakh hectares ahead of last year.

This time there has been a good increase in the production area of ​​groundnut in the most prominent producing state- Gujarat. Its sowing has reached the final stage.