Gujarat: Acreage of Rabi crops rises by 14% this season

Of the total area sown this Rabi season, wheat occupies the largest area at 12.31 lakh hectares and of this, irrigated wheat occupies 11.87 lakh hectares.




Farmers in Gujarat have sown winter crops in 35.46 lakh hectares, which is about 14 percent more compared to the average area covered under Rabi crops during the last three years. This season, 35 percent of the total area sown has been covered by wheat. Gram and cumin, too, occupy significant tracts.

As of December 30, 2019, farmers have sown 4.27 lakh hectares more compared to the state’s three-year average of 31.19 lakh hectares for the Rabi season, stated data from the state’s Agriculture Department. A deficient monsoon last year resulted in only 27.38 lakh hectares of winter crops sown during the period.

Of the total area sown this Rabi season, wheat occupies the largest area at 12.31 lakh hectares and of this, irrigated wheat occupies 11.87 lakh hectares. Farmers in Saurashtra have taken a lead in sowing wheat, with over 4.14 lakh hectares of wheat being sown in the region, of which 1.02 lakh hectares are in Junagadh district alone. “This year, due to an extended monsoon, the farmers have good water stocks and this reflects in the sowing pattern of Rabi season,” said Sagar Rabari, head of Gujarat-based Khedut Ekta Manch, a body of farmers.

Farmers of Saurashtra have also sown more cumin and gram. Of the total 4.35 lakh hectares of cumin sown this season, 2.42 lakh hectares is in Saurashtra. North Gujarat, a hub of cumin which saw massive attacks by locusts swarms, has sown 1.27 lakh hectares of the crop. Similarly, gram has been sown in 3.42 lakh hectares in the state, of which 1.9 lakh hectares are in Saurashtra region.

Apart from wheat, mustard (1.59 lakh hectares) dominates the sowing in North Gujarat, while farmers in South Gujarat have opted more for sugarcane (1.06 lakh hectares). Farmers have sown only 35,123 hectares of onions, currently selling at Rs 100-125 per kg in retail market. This area is less than the three-year average of 38,180 hectares.
Rabari said, “The prices of onions increased only after most of the sowing was completed. Last couple of years, farmers in Gujarat were forced to sell onions at Rs 1.50 a kilogram and so they have sown less.”

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