As part of its move to encourage farmers to switch to oilseeds and reduce the country’s import bills, the agriculture ministry last year reported the highest ever increase (both percentage and full term) of 8.6% in MSP before the start of the rabi sowing season. was announced. Minimum growth of 2% in case of mustard/rapeseed and wheat, the most popular winter sown crop.
“The idea was to give a signal to the farmers so that they can opt for crop diversification. The results are now clear as the area under wheat has declined by 1.7% as compared to last Friday but the area under mustard has increased by 23% More acreage will increase. Production of oilseeds during the 2021-22 crop season, resulting in reduced dependence on imports during 2022-23,” said a ministry official.
Sowing area data released by the ministry on January 7 shows that the area under rabi crops this year (652 lakh hectares) has so far exceeded the figure for the corresponding period last year by nearly six lakh hectares. This increase, which may eventually end at record acreage, is mainly due to an increase in oilseeds acreage by over 17.2 per cent. million hectares From last year’s 81 lakh hectare to more than 98 lakh hectare this year. Mustard alone has registered an increase of 16.9 lakh hectares in oilseeds basket. More than half of this increase is reported in Rajasthan alone.
On the other hand, all other major rabi crops – wheat, pulses and coarse cereals – reported a decline in acreage, indicating how farmers preferred to opt for oilseeds, which not only saw a good increase in MSP, but also other bases including seeds. Support too. Government as part of its mission to increase production of oilseeds.
If we look at the MSP data, the highest absolute increase was for Mustard/Rapeseed (Rs 400 each quintal) which was an increase of 8.6% as compared to the previous year. On the other hand, an increase of only Rs 40 per quintal (an increase of 2%) was registered in the MSP of wheat, excluding the increase in cost (Rs 48 per quintal).
Most of the oilseed producing states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat have been reported to have more area under oilseeds this year. Telangana, Karnataka, Punjab, Assam, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh.
In the case of wheat, even Punjab, known as the wheat bowl of India, recorded marginally less acreage this year as compared to the same period last year. Other states that reported less acreage include Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.
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