Return rains have brightened the hopes for more area under rabi sowing in Maharashtra. The agriculture commissionarate has set the target of 6.25 million hectare of area to be covered under rabi sowing during the current year compared to 4.2 million hectare last year. The increase in area is expected in rabi jowar and gram.
Umakant Dangat, agriculture commissioner told Business Standard "The normal area of the rabi season is 5.86 million hectare. The target fixed for the rabi 2012-13 is 6.25 million hectare. However, the expected rabi area will be 6.5 million hectare which is more than target area. The rains received in the last week of September and first week of the October is very useful for the sowing of rabi crops. The rainfall received in the first week of October is 107% to the normal." He informed that the sowing of rabi jowar, maize and gram was in progress while the sowing of wheat was yet to start.
According to the agriculture commissionerate, of the 5.86 million normal area of the rabi season sowing has been done in .51 million hectare which is 9% of sown area to normal area. The rabi sowing is 8% of the target of 6.25 million hectare. The unsown area of the kharif 2012 is .69 million hectare which is expected to be sown in rabi season.
Dangat said if the state receives further good rains in return monsoon, the area under rabi jowar is expected upto 3.2 million hectare as it has been in 2008-09. Same would be the case in gram (1.4 million hectare).
On the production prospects of kharif during 2012-13 is concerned, Dangat said the first advance estimates show there is reduction in production of foodgrains, oilseeds and sugarcane as compared to 2010-11, 2011-12 and targets of 2012-13. The foodgrains production alone is expected to be 6.69 million ton which is minus 14% of the normal production of 7.95 million ton, minus 27% compared to 2010-11 production, minus 21% compared to 2011-12 and minus 26% of target production of 6.90 million ton in 2012-13. The oil seeds production to be lower at 4.21 million ton against target of 4.78 million ton and sugarcane production at 61.3 million ton against target of 74.4 million ton. However, cotton production would be exception as it has estimated at 6.9 million ton against target of 6.39 million ton.
"The fall in production is due to deficit rainfall during sowing period and vegetative growth state of kharif crops in Pune, Satara, Sangli and Ahmadnagar districts of Western Maharashtra and some parts of Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed and Osmanabad districts of Marathwada region," Dangat said. He added that the sown area upto October 1(excluding sugarcane area) is 13.3 million hectare (101%) against normal area (excluding sugarcane area) of 13.9 million hectare.