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Planting of soyabean is set to begin in the key producing State of Madhya Pradesh over the next couple of days as monsoon advances further into parts of central India.
Relatively higher realisations from the oilseed may prompt farmers to plant more of soyabean, which may continue to displace cotton in some parts of Maharashtra and groundnut in Gujarat, trade sources said.
acreage
“We expect a five to seven per cent increase in soyabean area and it could even go up further,” said Rajesh Agarwal, spokesperson for the Indore-based Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA).
Last year, despite the delayed and erratic monsoon, soyabean was planted on a record 10.6 million hectares (mh) – a marginal increase over previous year’s 10.3 mh.
The output, according to the latest or third advance estimates, stood at 14.14 million tonnes (mt), up from 12.21 mt in the previous year.
“This year, we expect the total soyabean acreage to be between 11 mh and 11.2 mh,” Agarwal said.
better prices
Soyabean prices are currently ruling at Rs 3,800 a quintal, much higher than the support price of Rs 2,250. Though the prices have come down a tad in recent weeks, they are still relatively high and could prompt the farmers to bring in more area under the oilseed.
bright outlook
Agarwal expects the additional soyabean acreage to come mainly from Maharashtra and southern States such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
“Prospects are very bright for soyabean and if the rains arrive on time as predicted, there will be some increase in acreage,” said S.K. Srivastava, Director at the Indore-based Directorate of Soyabean Research (formerly National Research Centre for Soyabean).
As the area has almost saturated in Madhya Pradesh, the additional acreage will come from cotton growing areas in Vidarbha and groundnut in Gujarat, Srivastava said, adding that “the economics will eventually drive the acreage”.
Madhya Pradesh plans
Soyabean acreage in Madhya Pradesh stood at 6.158 mh in kharif 2012 and the output was estimated at 7.54 mt.
In the current year, the MP Government is targeting an acreage of 6.23 mh and an output of 8.72 mt.
The State Government plans to boost the productivity of the oilseed by up to 25 per cent through propagation of better agronomic practices, balanced use of fertiliser and increased use of bio-fertilisers.
The soyabean yield/hectare in Madhya Pradesh stood at 1,224 kg and the State Agriculture Department is aiming to increase it to 1,400 kg this year.
vishwanath.kulkarni@thehindu.co.in
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