Monsoon revival spurs oilseed sowing
The country’s oilseed acreage recovered by August 18 thanks to the extended sowing in major producing states, according to the latest study by the Central Organisation for Oil Industry and Trade (COOIT). Improved rainfall in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat pushed farmers to continue sowing in the extended kharif season.
The study finds a marginal decline in the sowing area under oilseeds of 0.58 per cent to 16.39 million hectares as on August 18, in comparison with 16.44 million hectares at the same time last year. However, the acreage witnessed a recovery of about 2 per cent from 14.43 million hectares as on August 1.
| YIELD CURVE Crop-wise comparison | |||
| In lakh hectares Oilseeds | August 18 | ||
Growth
In the second week of August, rainfall was normal in 32 and deficient in four of the 36 meteorological sub-divisions. The actual cumulative rainfall was 588.1 mm against the normal level of 575 mm, a rise of 2 per cent.
Before the recent spells of rainfall, the government of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had declared drought-like situation in the states and the oilseed acreage had declined dramatically. “With the revival of rains in some areas which had deficient rainfall, it is expected that the production this year will be similar or even higher than last year, if there is some increase in yields,” said COOIT in its report.
Leading the roost, Gujarat reported 1.77 million hectares under groundnut sowing this year as compared to 1.67 million hectares last year while Andhra Pradesh came the second with a total area of 1.32 million hectares compared with the 1.37 million hectares under this valuable oilseed.
In soybean, Madhya Pradesh remained at the top with a total area of 5.14 million hectares (4.801 million ha) followed by Maharashtra 2.74 million hectares (2.6 million hectares). Rajasthan topped sesame seed sowing area with 394,000 hectares (323,000 hectares) followed by Gujarat with 228,000 ha (302,000 hectares) and Madhya Pradesh 205,000 hectares (238,000 hectares).
As anticipated, Karnataka recorded a drastic decline in sunflower seed acreage with 247,000 hectares (451,000 hectares) still recorded more than half of India’s sowing area under this edible oilseed. Total area under sunflower seed was reported at 355,000 hectares early second fortnight as compared to 635,000 hectares in the corresponding period last year.
Niger seed acreage area too declined marginally to 178,000 hectares from 196,000 hectares in which Madhya Pradesh alone shared 117,000 hectares (111,000 hectars).