Cotton, groundnut sowing likely to be affected if the clouds don’t relent in 10 days or so.
The wait seems to be getting longer for farmers in Gujarat. The southwest monsoon has been delayed in the state by close to a fortnight from the earlier forecast of June 15.
The pre-monsoon showers at most places earlier this month had generated a wave of hope among farmers for a timely monsoon this year. However, says Kamaljit Ray, director here at the India Meteorological Department: “The monsoon system which was expected to bring rain in parts of Gujarat from June 15 onwards has failed and shifted upwards to Rajasthan. Now, it is only after a new monsoon system gets formed that the state can see some rains, which is expected in a week’s time."
| ACREAGE BREAK-UP | |
| Major kharif crops | Acreage (hectares) |
| Cereals | 1,721,800 |
| Pulses | 582,400 |
| Cotton (lint) | 2,464,400 |
| Groundnut | 1,757,600 |
| Castor | 421,600 |
| Sugarcane | 190,300 |
| Other oilseeds | 644,300 |
| Based on the final forecast report of 2009-10 by the Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Gujarat | |
Concern has started mounting in government departments, as the two major kharif crops, groundnut and cotton, are feared to be at risk. A delay in monsoon may adversely affect sowing activity for these crops. The kharif season started in April-May.
“The sowing has already begun in parts of Saurashtra and north Gujarat, which had seen pre-monsoon showers earlier this month. But as the regular monsoon has got delayed, there are fears of damage to sowing in these regions. The crops sown so far include groundnut and cotton," informed a senior official at the agriculture department. Groundnut sowing has been done on about 376,000 hectares, while cotton sowing has been taken up on nearly 452,000 hectares.
Sowing for cereals and pulses, including paddy, jowar, bajra, maize, ragi, tur, moong and urad, and oilseeds like soybean, sesame seed and sunflower seed, will be taken up as the monsoon sets in. A damage to the sowing would bring down production and yield of the major crops. Gujarat is one of the largest producers of groundnut and cotton. It produces about 10 million bales (a bale = 170 kg) of cotton every year, while groundnut production is seen at around two million tonnes. On an average, kharif crops are cultivated on about 8.6 million hectares in Gujarat.
“The situation is not alarming but there are concerns among farmers. A further delay in monsoon would not only affect the sowing but also put a dent in the yield," said Govindbhai Patel, an edible oil expert from Rajkot.
Experts maintained that in some parts of the coastal region, there was some damage to cotton sowing. “Replanting had to be taken up for cotton as there was damage due pre-monsoon showers. The area for replanting would be less than 10 per cent of the total cotton acreage in the state. Now, there is a potential threat to the groundnut sowing, if it does not rain in the next 10 days,” informed Biren Vakil, a commodity expert based here.
Saurashtra and parts of northern Gujarat are the key growing regions for groundnut and cotton. The districts having groundnut and cotton sowing include Junagadh, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Amreli and Surendranagar. Southern and central Gujarat are the key growing regions for oilseeds, pulses and cereals, including paddy.
