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Soybean: Maharashtra sees 100 per cent rise in sowing as MP reports a dip

Reports by the Indore-based Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) shows that Maharashtra has reported an over 100 per cent increase in sowing while Madhya Pradesh has shown a 20 per cent dip.

maharashtra soyabean farmingAs against 58.54 lakh hectares of soybean area sown last year, Madhya Pradesh has reported sowing in only 48.516 lakh hectares this year. (File Photo)

This kharif season, Maharashtra can well outstrip Madhya Pradesh as the leading soybean producing state in the country. Maharashtra, in fact, has seen more than 100 per cent increase in sowing as compared to last year even as MP reported a 20 per cent dip in sowing. While it is too early to comment about the crop position, processors say Maharashtra’s crop condition is better than that of the neighbouring state.

A major cash crop for the arid and rain-fed areas of India, the oilseed is grown majorly in MP, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Gujarat. In MP, farmers in Ujjain division (comprising the district of Ujjain, Neemuch, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dewas, Shajpur and Agar) and Latur division of Maharashtra (comprising Latur, Osmanabad, Parbhani, Hingoli and Nanded districts) account for over 40 per cent of the total soybean grown in the country. Normally, Madhya Pradesh’s sowing is almost 10-12 lakh hectares more than that of Maharashtra.

Reports by the Indore-based Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA), however, shows that Maharashtra has reported an over 100 per cent increase in sowing while Madhya Pradesh has shown a 20 per cent dip.

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As against 58.54 lakh hectares of soybean area sown last year, Madhya Pradesh has reported sowing in only 48.516 lakh hectares this year. Maharashtra, on the other hand, has seen sowing in over 44.087 lakh hectares area, a growth of 109.13 per cent from last year’s 40.397 lakh hectares.

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Rajasthan, Telangana and Chhattisgarh have reported a dip in the sowing area while Gujarat has reported growth. Ujjain division (19.280 lakh hectares) and Latur division (17.510 lakh hectares) have emerged as the largest soybean growing areas in the country.

SOPA officials link the dip in MP’s sowing area to non-availability of quality seed and higher cost of soybean seeds. Farmers there have shifted to crops like black gram, maize, moong etc.

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On the other hand, in Maharashtra, farmers had access to quality seeds, thanks to a special programme run by the agriculture department wherein farmers were encouraged and trained to save their own seeds from the previous years. With this, farmers had managed to store around 3 lakh tonnes of their own produce of last season to be used as seeds for the present season.

Naresh Goenka, vice-president of SOPA, said the crop condition of Maharashtra is better than that of Madhya Pradesh. “There are reports of crop damage due to moisture stress in many parts of Madhya Pradesh but, as of now, Maharashtra’s crop condition is good,” he said. However, a lot depends on the progress of monsoon, Goenka said. “Farmers in most states are now keeping their fingers crossed. If the monsoon behaves normally, Maharashtra would out-produce Madhya Pradesh in terms of soybean,” he added.

First uploaded on: 17-08-2021 at 05:18 IST
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