Gujarat is all set to report record sowing of summer crops such as pulses, oilseeds, cereals and vegetables this year. This is attributed to adequate availability of water and demand pushing up prices of these crops.
As per the data of the state agriculture department, progressive sowing area of the 2022 season under all summer crops have crossed one million hectare (mh) against the last three year’s average sowing of 0.89 mh. This is an increase of more than 23%.
Last year, the summer crops were sown in 0.81 mh.
“Due to MSP as well as higher market prices of different agricultural commodities coupled with availability of ground water, the state is witnessing increased acreage in summer sowing. Parts of Gujarat witnessed prolonged monsoon last year. As a result, in some areas farmers are taking crops in all three seasons including that of summer,” said CM Patel, joint director of agriculture, Gujarat.
Farmers in Gujarat resorted to pulses this summer season as they earned handsomely from these cash crops during the previous two years, says Sagar Rabari, trustee of Khedut Ekta Manch. Rabari also believes that another reason for the increased acreage in the summer season is availability of groundwater.
According to him, some Gujarat farmers are also experimenting on soyabean as one of the summer crops.
Acreage of pulses has risen to 90,000 hectares compared with a three-year average of around 54,000 hectares. During the last summer season, pulses were sown in 63,000 hectares across Gujarat. Sowing of oilseeds too increased from 0.1 million hectares to 0.16 million hectares. This rise is due to widespread sowing of sesamum (til).
Acreage of another oilseed crop groundnut too has gone up from 49,200 hectare to as high as 60,000 hectares on year, especially in Saurashtra and North Gujarat regions.
Interestingly, there has been only a marginal rise in sowing of cereals from the past three years average of 0.315 million hectare to 0.3.2 million hectares in the current summer season. However, compared to previous summer season’s 0.28 million hectares, there has been significant increase in acreage of cereal crops, as per the latest data of the state agriculture department.
Some of the other crops, including onion, vegetables, fodder and guargum, the sowing areas increased this summer season compared to past three years average as well as last year’s sowing areas. Sowing of sugarcane, which requires lots of wager, has increased from 6767 hectares to 8823 hectares.
