Gujarat is expected to harvest 33.45 lakh tonnes (lt) of groundnut during the current kharif season as against 30 lt in the previous kharif season, registering 11.50 per cent growth. However, groundnut acreage in Gujarat has declined by 74,000 hectares (4.33 per cent), according to the Groundnut Kharif Crop Survey 2023 conducted by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA).
B.V. Mehta, Executive Director of SEA, said groundnut is one of the major kharif crops, and Gujarat a leading producer. The SEA Groundnut Promotion Council has conducted crop surveys over the last 14 years to assess the size and quality of the crop.
The SEA team had visited a number of farms in Saurashtra, from where random samples were drawn. Counting of the pods, size and distance between two rows was studied. The maturity and quality of the pods was also studied.
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“By applying a scientific matrix, the per hectare yield of each field was arrived at to estimate production,” he said.
According to the Gujarat government, the kharif groundnut crop was sown on 16.35 lakh hectares (lh) during 2023-24, against 17.09 lh in 2022-23. He attributed the reduction to the shift in acreage from groundnut to cotton, soyabean and other crops.
The all-India groundnut kharif acreage was reported at 43.91 lh during 2023-24, against 45.54 lh in 2022-23, down by 1.62 lh (3.58 per cent).
Help from rain spells
He said the average yield per hectare had increased by 16.52 per cent to 2,045 kg per hectare in Gujarat, against 1,755 kg. Heavy rains in June and July and water conservation helped farmers overcome the dry spell in August.
Arrivals in North Gujarat are at their peak since farmers in the area prefer to sell as soon as the crop is harvested.
The area under soyabean in Gujarat has increased to 2.66 lh from 2.22 lh last year since the input cost for the farmer was low, and they did not have to depend on labour,as mechanised harvesting was more cost effective. .
The current MSP for groundnut is ₹6,379 per quintal, while the current mandi price of good quality (FAQ) produce is pegged near MSP, between ₹6,250 and ₹6,500.
The SEA team met farmers, oil millers, solvent extraction units, traders, commission agents and brokers in several places in Saurashtra, including Gondal, Amreli, Junagadh, Keshod, Mangrol, Porbandar and Advana, during October 20-22.