Groundnut loses ground in Andhra

Despite government efforts, the farmers of Andhra Pradesh have shown their reluctance to grow groundnut. This is evident from the kharif and rabi crop area, and the kharif harvest figures.

Final figures put crop area this rabi (second crop) season at 2.35 lakh hectare against the normal 2.37 lakh hectare, and the kharif crop area at 10.71 lakh hectare against the normal crop area of 14.38 lakh hectare and 15.38 lakh hectare in 2005-06.

The kharif output in 2006-07 has turned out to be 3.5 lakh tonne as against 15.58 lakh tonne in 2005-06 and 12.49 lakh tonne in 2004-05. The yield in 2006-07 kharif season was 326 kg a hectare against 1,113 kg harvest a hectare in 2005-06. Traders also see bleak prospects for the rabi crop, which was 5.85 lakh tonne in 2005-06, when farmers reaped 1,800 kg a hectare.

Farmers attribute lack of enthusiasm in groundnut crop to unremunerative prices and high input cost and wages of farmhands. The minimum support price of the oilseed is currently between Rs 1,500 and 1,540 a quintal, which according to the farmers is inadequate.

In Telangana districts, one of the main growing regions in the state, the area under groundnut cultivation during the rabi season is 1.25 lakh hectare, 2.5 lakh hectare less than the last year's crop area. The coastal districts of the state have also witnessed a fall in the crop area (36,961 hectare) compared with the normal crop area (38,190 hectare). In Rayalaseema districts, groundnut was sowed in 72,050 hectare as against last year's 88,710 hectare (81,356 hectare normal).

Of the other oilseeds cultivated in the current rabi season, sesamum has been sown in 0.26 lakh hectare (0.38 lakh hectare normal), sunflower in 3.43 lakh hectare (2.91 lakh hectare normal), safflower in 0.15 lakh hectare (0.18 lakh hectare normal), nigerseed in 0.17 lakh hectare (0.16 lakh hectare normal), rapeseed & mustard seed in 0.031 lakh hectare (0.3 lakh hectare normal), linseed in 0.01 lakh hectare (0.05 lakh hectare normal) and others in 0.06 lakh hectare (0.16 lakh hectare normal).