More takers for kharif crop in Kutch

With favorable monsoon farmers of the Saurashtra-Kutch region taking crop cultivation across 53 lakh hectare sprawling across the region. The region, which is known for a cotton and groundnut cultivation, is involved in cultivating it in a major way.

The cultivation was done in three phases and along with cotton and groundnut food-grains, cereals, pulses and other vegetables and fruits have also been cultivated to encash the harvest of Kaharif season.

Total cultivation of crops in Rajkot, Jamnagar, Surendranagar and Kutch is on 36,46,422 hectare. Out of this pie, cotton cultivation sprawls across 20,39,995 hectare, followed by oilseeds across 9,62,728 hectare.

Vegetables and fruits are spread across 2,30,548 hectare, while cereals and pulses take up 2,09,363 hectare, where as foodgrains sprawl across 1,64,815 hectare and other cash cultivation are spread across 38,973 hectare, explains SV Ranparia, joint director of Agriculture from Rajkot.

Of oilseeds cultivated across 9,62,728 hectare, groundnuts were sown in an area sprawling across 7,04,603 hectare in these four districts, he added.

Groundnut cultivation comprises mainly of two kinds of produces, horizontal and vertical ones. The horizontal produce, which include groundnuts are usually ready within four months, where as the vertical produce can be harvested in 90-95 days.

The cultivation of cotton has experienced boom time this season too and mainly comprises of two types of produces "domestic" cotton and "hybrid" cotton.

Surendranagar is the leader in cultivation of cotton. "Of the total cotton crop cultivated across 20,39,995 hectare in the region, cultivation in Surendranagar alone sprawls across 10,19,359 hectare," explained Ranparia. Cotton cultivation across the district primarily comprises of BT cotton, he added.

Other crops cultivated across the four districts comprise chiefly of foodgrains mainly millet, followed by pulses comprising of moong, urad, choli, tuver, math, guar-gum, white (kidney-shaped) beans. Vegetables and fruits such as pappaiya, chilli, onions and the like are also cultivated.

Total cultivation across Junagadh, Porbandar, Amreli and Bhavnagar sprawls across 17,27,790 hectare, of which, oilseed cultivation lead the graph as cultivation of oilseeds sprawls across 9,35,224 hectare. Cash crops such as cotton are spread across 5,64,489 hectare, foodgrains, vegetables, cereals and pulses across 2,28,077 hectare area.

"As this region is considered 'the bowl of groundnut', the crop is cultivated across 8,45,487 hectare from the oilseed crop cultivated across 9,35,224 hectare," explains MJ Vankar, joint director of Agriculture from Junagadh.

Overall, the scenario of crops cultivated across the Saurashtra-Kutch region as far as kharif harvesting is considered is far better this season - due to systematic monsoon season, "Farmers have undertaken cultivation this season in three phases, first one was in the first week of June, later on in the third week of June and third one the final cultivation phase was in the first week of July," explains Ranparia.

Again, monsoon this season has been very systematic across the Saurashtra-Kutch region, neither more nor less, which has proved as a boon to the farmers this season. The very timely and natural flow of showers at regular intervals acted as sprinklers added Ranparia.

Due to such wonderful natural support of good monsoons, check-dams and irrigation support systems across the region are full of water and will help farmers encash on the winter season crops in a better way.

"Water mainly utilised for agriculture is fetched from such natural storage systems primarily comprising of check-dams, bori-bandh schemes, khet talavadis, dams, water-harvesting methods deployed in villages, etc. Majority of such spots are filled with water this season and even if monsoon gets prolonged in September, there is enough water stored to continue cultivation and harvesting for the next seasonal harvest. As a result, farmers will be able to encash even on winter cultivations and crops," explains Vankar.