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The overall area of Rabi crops sown by farmers in Gujarat has fallen by almost 12 per cent due to rise in input costs and the fall in prices of most agricultural commodities. The decrease in acreage occurred despite a more than 50 per cent rise in acreage of crops such as cumin (jeera) and psyllium husk (isabgol) this winter.
Over 40.77 lakh hectares of area has been sown this Rabi season. This is about 12 per cent less than the average area of 46.11 lakh hectares sown during the Rabi season in the last three years, according to data from the State’s agriculture department..
Irrigated wheat occupies the largest area at 10.48 lakh hectares. However, the acreage of Wheat in this Rabi season has fallen by 18 per cent. The biggest drop has been in the sowing of gram which saw a drop of almost 37 per cent compared to the average sowing area of the last three years. This year, only 5.6 lakh hectares of this crop were sown.
“The sowing for the Rabi season is about to end. Rising input costs, lower prices of agricultural produce in the markets, and poor crop protection policies in the wake of crop failure have all contributed to the lacklustre sowing this Rabi season in Gujarat,” said an agriculture expert who did not wish to be quoted.
In stark contrast to the overall sowing pattern in Gujarat, the acreage of important crops like cumin and isabgol has risen by over 50 per cent this Rabi season. Compared to the average 3.5 lakh hectares of cumin sown during the last three years, this year the crop has been sown in 5.3 lakh hectares.
Gujarat’s Agriculture Minister, Raghavji Patel, has hailed the increase in acreage for spices like cumin and said that the increased remuneration received by farmers growing this crop has led to the rise in sowing. Patel mentioned that Gujarat was the biggest producer of cumin in the country and a large chunk of the sowing of this crop happens during winter.
Similarly, the area under isabgol also rose 65 per cent to 21,000 hectares. This winter, the area of important vegetables like onions has dropped by 15 per cent to 61,500 hectares, while that of potato has risen by two per cent to 1.31 lakh hectares.
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