Sowing area under gram (chana) and wheat may fall in this rabi season in Madhya Pradesh as farmers shift to mustard and lentil (masur) on hope of getting better price, millers said.

“Price is the main factor that is driving away farmers from gram to lentil in Bina and adjoining districts of Madhya Pradesh,” said Rituraj Jain, owner of Vardhman Dal Mill, Bina. If gram prices remain low, it may further impact the crop even in next season, Jain said.

Agri marketing cooperative Nafed has been selling gram at about ₹4,400-4,926/quintal (rabi crops in 2020) from its stock in the open market through auction. The government has fixed minimum support price of gram at ₹5,230/quintal for rabi crops in 2021.

However, according to weekly update of the union agriculture ministry, sowing of mustard increased 58 per cent to 10.34 lakh hectare (lh), that of wheat by 13 per cent to 52.81 lh and masur by 20 per cent to 5.12 lh. Acreage under gram was down 2 per cent at 20.02 lh as of December 3 from the year-ago level. Madhya Pradesh is the biggest producer of gram and lentil in rabi season having a share of 31 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively, of the total acreage of these two crops in the country.

“In many districts of Madhya Pradesh farmers have shifted from wheat to mustard and there may be some issues with data compilation,” said Pawan Jindal, managing director of RB Agro Milling, which has a pulses processing unit of 75,000-tonne capacity per annum in Bina. Overall area under gram may be flat at last year’s level, he added.

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