Shifting to other crops. Gujarat’s kharif groundnut crop size estimated to be lower by 22 per cent

With the area under groundnut crop coming down by 10.52 per cent in Gujarat during the 2022-23 kharif season, the crop size is estimated to be lower by 22.18 per cent. Groundnut is one of the major crops in kharif season.

The Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA) of India released the ‘SEA Groundnut Kharif Crop Survey 2022’, giving details about Gujarat,a prominent groundnut-growing state.

Quoting the Gujarat government statistics the survey report said, the area under groundnut crop sown came down to 17.09 lakh hectares (lh) during kharif season 2022-23 against 19.10 lh in kharif 2021-22, a decline of 10.52 per cent.

BV Mehta, Executive Director of SEA of India, attributed this to the shift in acreage from groundnut to cotton, soyabean and other crops.

Gujarat is expected to harvest a 30 lakh tonnes (lt) of groundnut during kharif season 2022-23 as against 38.55 lt in 2021-22, a decline of 22.18 per cent. The normal crop size of the last five years is about 30 lt. He said there was a record crop last year compared to previous years.

The average yield per hectare reduced to 1,755 kg per hectare during kharif 2022-23 against 2,020 kg per hectare in 2021-22, a decline of 13.12 per cent. Mehta said the excess rain, flooding and dry spell during August affected crop yield.

The minimum support price (MSP) for groundnut is at ₹5,850 a quintal. He said mandi price of good quality (FAQ) groundnut is being quoted between ₹6,000-6,300 a quintal, and lower quality between ₹5,000-5,600 a quintal. “Mandi price may go down further with heavy arrivals in next few days,” he said.

Overall sowing

Overall groundnut sowing in the country has been reported at 44.59 lh during the current kharif season against 49.44 lh in the last kharif season, a decline of 9.81 per cent, mainly due to shifting of the area to other crops such as cotton and soyabean.

Major states producing groundnut are Gujarat (17.09 lh), Rajasthan (7.90 lh), Andhra Pradesh (5.47 lh), Madhya Pradesh (4.50 lh), Karnataka (3.73 lh), and Tamil Nādu (2.28 lh).

Study team

Mehta said SEA Groundnut Promotion Council has conducted the groundnut crop survey for the last 13 years to assess the crop’s size and quality for the stakeholders benefit .

A 19-member team, under the leadership of Vinod Patel and Rajesh Ankola, visited the leading groundnut-producing districts in Saurashtra during October 14-16 this year.

Many farms in the Saurashtra district were visited and random samples were drawn from fields. Many parameters such as pods counting, size and distance between the crops, their maturity, and quality were studied.

By applying the scientific matrix, the team arrived at the estimate of groundnut production.

Methodology

The team collected various information from each farmer visited while arriving at the yield and crop size. They include the number of ‘bigha’ of the land, the time of sowing, and the rain received during the season.

It also collected information on the type of irrigation facility used and the number of water cycles provided to the crop. Weather condition during sowing time and development period was also taken into consideration.

The team looked into insect infestation and measures taken to control them. They also considered the farmer’s estimate of the crop yield and the surrounding fields .

The team studied the acreage areas compared with the preceding year and acreage data published by the Gujarat government.

The main thrust areas for determining the yield were the number of pods set in the assured area which were counted after picking up from the field, and farmers’ opinions.

The SEA team also met with oil millers, solvent extraction units, traders, commission agents, brokers, etc., in various places in Saurashtra. He said the crop prospects, their expectations and other details were discussed in such meetings.