Rajasthan: Rabi sowing almost complete in state, says agri dept official

The sowing of Rabi or winter crops, which started in October in Rajasthan, is almost complete, an agriculture department official said.

 

According to government data, more than 85 per cent of almost all major winter crops have been sown.

 

Commodity traders in the state said that the chances of sowing further are almost negligible.

 

According to government data, 88 per cent of wheat sowing has been completed in the state till December 9. Wheat has been sown in 2.8 million hectares against the target of 3.2 million hectares this year.

 

Barley has been sown more this time and it has reached 105 per cent of the target. Barley has been sown in 400,000 hectares against the target of 380,000 hectares.

 

Likewise, gram has also been sown and achieved almost 87 per cent target. This year, gram has been sown in over 1.96 million hectares against the target of 2.25 million hectares.

 

For mustard, in which Rajasthan is the top producer in the country, sowing has also been completed in over 81 per cent of the targeted area. Mustard has been sown in 3.27 million hectares against the target of 4.05 million hectares.

 

Ramgopal Chaudhary, a farmer from Sanganer in Jaipur district, said farmers are just waiting for winter rain because only due to the rain, crops will grow at a faster rate and give better results.

 

Farmers are quite worried due to the absence of winter rain after Diwali. Only when rain occurs, the temperature will fall and the productivity of crops will increase.

 

Anil Chattar, a mustard trader from Jaipur, said that mustard sowing has decreased by 5 per cent, but the crop is good and there is no information about any loss. If winter rain occurs during this time, the mustard crop will yield good results, he added.