The Hindu Business Line : Gujarat urges farmers not to raise cotton area

Gandhinagar, June 27 With the onset of monsoon and sowing reported from different parts of Gujarat during the past few days, the State Government has advised farmers not to ignore other crops in favour of cotton to ensure a balanced crop pattern, availability of land for oilseed and pulses, and overall food security.

“But we can only advice the farmers. It is up to them to decide,” said Dr R.A. Sherashia, Director of Agriculture. Of the 88 lakh hectares under cultivation, out of the 96 lakh hectares of farmland available in Gujarat, sowing has been reported in nearly 10 per cent of the area, he told Business Line.

He said the State Government has urged the farmers to not bring any fresh area under cotton cultivation this year and restrict it to last year’s acreage.

This year, he said, cotton is likely to be grown in around 25 lakh hectares in Gujarat.

remunerative price

With groundnut attracting a remunerative price once again — the past year saw groundnut kernel prices go up 40 per cent, from Rs 500 to Rs 700 per 20 kg — many farmers are expected to heed the government’s advice. As a result, the area under groundnut is likely to increase by 20 per cent this year, from 16.56 lakh hectares to 20 lakh hectares.

But the same may not be for cereals and pulses whose area under cultivation is likely to decrease from 12.4 lakh and 9.4 lakh hectares respectively to 10 lakh and eight lakh hectares this year.

“This is our real concern for food security,” said Dr Sherashia.

From the central Gujarat regions, however, new crop patterns are emerging. Groundnut, horticulture and floriculture are expected to be taken up in a big way in these districts.

Encouraged by a 12 per cent annual growth, almost doubling the farm output to more than 1.67 lakh tonnes between 1993-94 and 2005-06, the Gujarat Government had targeted a 14 per cent growth in agriculture during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.

micro-irrigation

With its emphasis on micro-irrigation schemes like drip irrigation and sprinklers, nearly five lakh hectares is expected to be added to the existing 88 lakh hectares under cultivation.

A significant portion of this additional land is wasteland being brought under cultivation in north Gujarat areas where water has been made available through the Sardar Sarovar, Sujalam Sufalam and other schemes during the last five years.

Gujarat produces about 40-45 per cent of India’s cotton and its area under cotton cultivation was nearly 24 lakh hectares.

Of the country’s 250 lakh bales of cotton production, the State’s contribution is expected to be around 100 lakh bales. After China and the US, India is the third largest cotton producer in the world, with 92 lakh hectares under cotton cultivation.

Use of Bt and other new hybrid seeds and greater investment the business-savvy farmers’ belief to invest more and more in this cash crop had increased the yield by more than 50 per cent during the past last one decade.

Cotton cultivation in Gujarat got a fillip particularly in the wake of the Central Government’s cotton promotion schemes like Integrated Cotton Development Programme (ICDP) and the Technology Mission on Cotton, and easy sale of crop through agencies like the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and the NAFED.

More Stories on : Agricultural Policy | Cotton | Gujarat

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
‘Indian Ocean Dipole event driving rainfall’

Pepper futures decline

Gujarat urges farmers not to raise cotton area

Indonesia, top exporter of arecanut to India