New lease of life for drying groundnut crop in Saurashtra

The rains in the past few days has come as a blessing for farmers in the Saurashtra region. With the rains bringing the drying crop to life, the region is now expected to meet its production target.

"The recent rain have proved to be most useful for the cultivation of groundnut and cotton crop," sources in the farm sector said.

This year the rainfall in the region was in stages. After the non-seasonal showers in May, most farmers sowed groundnut seeds. However, the lack of rains for a long period in June-July saw 20-25 per cent of the crop drying. The subsequent spell of rains has boosted the crop.

Castor seeds and pulses were sown in 1.95 lakh hectares in most parts of the Kutch region after the rains set in. Sesame seeds and vegetables were also sowed in large areas.

With the prospects of a good crop, has led to prices of edible oils dipping in the region. "In the recent rains, 18 lakh hectares under groundnut crop have got rain water. The estimated yield of groundnut from Saurashtra is 10 lakh tonne. This is dependent on a second round of rainfall," Ukabhai Patel, president-Saurashtra Oil Miller's Association (SOMA), said.

"With expectations of arrival of new produce, the old stock of groundnut is coming in the market for sale at a moderate rate, pushing down prices," he added.

The present price of a tin of groundnut oil is down to between Rs 827 to 832 from over Rs 900 two months back.

Meanwhile, the recent rainfall in Saurashtra has led to most check dams at the village level overflowing. "There are 19303 check dams in 7 districts of Saurashtra. Of these, 16715, with a storage capacity of 8370 million cubic feet, are overflowing," informed Kalpanaben Maheta, director, District Rural Development Agency, Rajkot district.

"In Rajkot district, out of total 3477 check dams, 3152 are already full with water and so farmers will get ample water for irrigation," Maheta added.

With check dams set up at various places, flow of water has decreased to the major dams. The Aji and Bhadar dams, the main source of water supply to Rajkot city are still 65 per cent empty. The Bhadar dam has water storage capacity of 6400 million cubic feet.