Govt to focus on raising rabi oilseeds' area to compensate for kharif loss

The Centre is expected to focus on expanding the oilseed area during the coming rabi harvest to make up for the impact of delayed monsoon on the kharif crop.

Officials said this was needed to bring down the reliance on imports, which had touched the highest of 1.3 million tonnes in August.

The matter is expected to be discussed during the two-day annual rabi campaign in the national capital from Wednesday.

Officials said among the strategies that will be discussed in the conference is diversification of less irrigated areas from wheat to mustard and sowing of sunflower cultivation after harvest of potato crops.

There could be a special focus on Haryana, which is the first state in the country to officially declare drought in 2014.The conference which is held every year takes stock of the state and central government's preparedness for the sowing seasons.

Around 34 per cent of India's total annual oilseeds production of 29-31 million tonnes comes from the rabi season

This year, it has assumed added significance due to delayed and low rains in some parts during the ongoing southwest monsoon season and also floods in other parts.

Rabi sowing starts from late October and the crop is harvested from February onwards, while kharif crops are sown in June-July and the harvesting starts from October onwards.

Oilseeds have been sown in around 17.52 million hectares during the current kharif season of 2014, which is almost 1.63 million hectares less than last year.