The area under soyabean cultivation in the country this year is at an all time high at 121.086 lakh hectare, senior officials from the Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) said. Last year, the sowing had touched 110.177 lakh hectare.
According to Davish Jain, chairman, SOPA, although this year the area under soyabean cultivation is higher by 10 lakh hectare as compared to last year, the production may not be higher than last year due to lower yield.
Jain said the erratic tenure of the monsoon and moisture levels could result in some loss to the expectation of a bumper crop. Last year, the total production touched 99.64 lakh tonne. The acreage has gone up further in Madhya Pradesh to touch 68 lakh hectares and there could be an overall improvement of 1-2 lakh hectares across the country, he said.
“For farmers soya is seen as a better option in terms of prices of other competing crops such as cotton and basmati rice. They received a bad deal last time and ended up in losses. Farmers, who had replaced soya with other crops, are returning to soya plantation this year and the lost acreage of 2013 at 121 lakh hectares has been regained,” Jain pointed out.
DN Pathak, SOPA executive director, agreed and pointed out the yield could be lower because of damage to crops.
There have been pest attacks, stunted growth and flowering problems and all this could impact production, he said.
Industry experts said the prices of oilseeds have been one of the major factors for a boost in sowing this year.
SOPA has conducted a survey of soyabean crop in the three major soyabean growing states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The survey was carried by extensive field travel by SOPA teams in 59 soyabean growing districts of the countryt in these states.
According to agriculture department of Madhya Pradesh, area under soyabean cultivation in the state this year is 67.280 lakh hectare which is higher than last year (55.462 lakh hectare). Due to poor rains immediately after sowing and then heavy rains which caused water logging soya crop in approximately 3.6 lakh hectare has been destroyed completely.
The vegetative growth of plants and formation of pods have been affected adversely due to water logging and insufficient sunlight. Looking at all these aspects, the production of soyabean will be down by 15-20% this year in Malwa region.