Agriculture consultants see a shift to mustard, lentils

Farmers will want to develop wheat, mustard and lentils (masur) for the 2023-24 rabi advertising and marketing season as costs of those crops had been greater than their minimal help worth (MSP) final 12 months, stated agriculture consultants.

“In Punjab and Haryana, farmers within the irrigated belt will select to sow wheat whereas people who fall within the rainfed space will go for mustard,” stated Rahul Chauhan, director of agri analysis agency IGrain India.

Whereas farmers within the japanese areas of Uttar Pradesh might go for mustard, the western area of the state will seemingly select wheat. Madhya Pradesh farmers may additionally want to sow mustard and wheat.

The federal government has elevated the MSP of those crops – ₹110 per quintal for wheat, ₹500 per quintal for lentils and ₹400 for mustard seeds – incentivising farmers to develop these. The utmost price of return on the present MSP is 104% for rapeseed and mustard, adopted by 100% for wheat and 85% for lentils, a authorities assertion stated Tuesday.

The bigger enhance within the MSP of mustard and rapeseed might additionally assist in the diversion of some wheat to those oilseeds, stated consultants. “The federal government gave good-looking will increase for mustard and rapeseed and masoor. We are able to count on some wheat space to be diverted to those crops,” former agriculture secretary Siraj Hussain stated, including that the federal government ought to be sure that the landed value of imported masoor and substitute edible oil was not lower than MSP-derived costs.

Chana (gram) is anticipated to be the crop of alternative in Gujarat, though the world coated may very well be lower than final 12 months as chana costs have been low. The federal government additionally has an enormous inventory of chana which it has bought to a number of states at discounted costs.

In Maharashtra, farmers are anticipated to plant chana. The world below cotton and maize may additionally enhance. In Karnataka, urad and moong are anticipated to be the crops of alternative. Sowing of rabi (winter) crops begins in October, instantly after the harvest of kharif (summer season) crops.

Round 4,32,000 hectares have already been planted with oilseeds like rapeseed, mustard and taramira in Rajasthan, information from the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed.