|
| Govt revises rabi estimate |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi/ Bhopal Oct 13, 2009, 00:43 IST |
|
Amid fertiliser and power crisis, the Madhya Pradesh government has revised rabi estimate upwards and has put it at approximately 9.2 million hectare as the first week of October received a good spell of rains.
Earlier, in view of drought like conditions in 37 districts, the state government had projected the rabi acreage in the range of 8.4 million hectare.
“Almost all districts received good rains during the first week of October and farmers in Chambal region have started re-sowing mustard as rains had damaged the earlier sowing.
The rabi acreage is likely to go up by at least 800,000 hectare this year and will cross 9 million hectare,” a senior official in the department of agriculture and farmers’ welfare told Business Standard. The state government has yet to make the revised crop estimate public.
He also informed barring a few districts like Shahdol and Rewa, the state had no drought like conditions. “Water bodies, wetlands, rivers and other source have sufficient water,” said the official. The farmers have also increased acreage of pulses and oilseeds by another 400,000-500,000 hectares. The combined acreage of pulse and oilseed acreage was 4.4 million hectare and this year it has touched 4.8 million hectares of which pulses acreage is 3.8 million hectare. “We are expecting gram to cover the most on an area of 2.9 million hectare. The figures will be released soon,” the official said. Wheat is likely to be sown in 4 million hectare.
Despite normal rains, the state has estimated a loss of at least 500,000 tonnes in paddy output, which is likely to go down from the last year’s 1.7 million tonnes to 1.2 million tonnes this year. However, soyabean production is expected to be more than 5 million tonne.
Madhya Pradesh leads pulse production and also grows the best varieties of wheat known as Sharbati and Durum, which are rich in protein and superb in taste. A fair amount of wheat is procured by a number of corporate houses like ITC, Hind Unilever and Cargill.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
