Groundnut cultivation to go up by 30%

Narandas Thacker / TNN / Jan 28, 2006, 21:07 IST

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Cultivation of groundnut in Saurashtra and Kutch regions this summer is expected to rise by as much as 30 per cent.

RAJKOT: The cultivation of groundnut in Saurashtra and Kutch regions this summer is expected to rise by as much as 30 per cent, according to projections made by agriculture sources.
Last summer, the area under groundnut cultivation was 2.5 lakh hectares. It is expected to go up to 3.25 lakh hectares this year.
According to reports from various parts of the region, sowing for summer groundnut has begun in full swing.Bhavnagar, Jamnagar districts and the border districts of Kutch would be leading in the groundnut cultivation.
The significant spurt in groundnut cultivation in summer is due to availability of water from reservoirs. Last year, Bhavnagar, Talaja and Mahuva recorded a moderate groundnut sowing. However, this year, Shetrunji dam is in a position to provide water to irrigate large areas of Bhavnagar district, which would be used for groundnut sowing.

Likewise, in Rajkot district also, sowing for summer groundnut has already started in catchment areas of the dams. Even in Kutch, sowing for groundnut has been done in Nakhatrana taluka, in Western part of the district.
Groundnut sowing operations are likely to be completed in the next couple of weeks, latest by February 15. This year, the groundnut production in Saurashtra and Kutch region has been between 22 lakh and 23 lakh tonnes.
So far, about 50 per cent of the produce has hit the market. A part has been exported in the form of ground kernel and a portion has gone for crushing.
According to farm and market sources, a stock of about a million tonnes of groundnut is still lying with the farmers, majority of whom are big farmers, with holding capacity. This is about 50 per cent of the total groundnut crop of the current year.

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