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Indian Express
29-05-2025
- Climate
- Indian Express
To sow or not: The question Maharashtra's soyabean farmers face amid early monsoon onset
Over the past few days, farmers at Takli in Maharashtra's Latur district are confused about whether or not to start sowing soyabean, the largest-grown cash crop of the state. Vilas Uphade, a resident who is also the director of Vikas Farmers Producers Company (FPC), says soil moisture has increased after the heavy rain, prompting many to start sowing soyabean. 'The biggest uncertainty is whether this rain would continue-if there is a gap during the vegetative growth phase, all our efforts will go in vain,' he said. The early onset of the monsoon has thus put soyabean growers in a fix. The heavy rain in a short period of time has led to increased soil moisture, making fields conducive for sowing. Some farmers like Yuvraj Patil from Nanded district have not been able to complete their land preparation. 'Some had finished tilling but the raising of beds and row formation are yet to be done. At some places farmers have to add manure,' he said. But those who have finished these operations, Patil said, want to go for sowing. Since March 1, both Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh–two major soyabean-producing states–have received 150.2 mm and 37.7 mm of rainfall, respectively. As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), normally these states receive 22.4 mm and 16.5 mm of rainfall, respectively, in the same period. The confusion among farmers can be easily explained through the rainfall figures for Marathwada and Vidarbha–the two major soyabean-producing regions of the state. Marathwada reported 97.5 mm of rainfall (against a normal of 22.2 mm) and Vidharbha even higher, 133.4 mm (against 22.4mm). Indra Mani, vice-chancellor of the Parbhani-headquartered Vasantrao Naik Krishi Vidyapeth, the state agriculture university, explained that most of the rain the regions had received was pre-monsoon showers. 'As this rainfall is considered pre-monsoon, farmers are advised not to rush for soyabean sowing. Instead, they should utilise the available moisture for preparatory field operations such as ploughing and soil preparation,' he said. An advisory issued by K S Baig, director of research at the Soyabean Research Centre, and agrometeorologists S M Umate and K K Dakhore cautioned farmers against early sowing. 'It is recommended that they undertake sowing after the official onset of the monsoon and after receiving at least 75 to 100 mm of rainfall, ideally after June 10-15,' said the advisory. On average, Maharashtra reports 40 lakh hectares of soyabean sowing every kharif season. Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More
Indian Express
06-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Parbhani SAU's safflower variety can hold key for crop's revival
Vasantrao Lad (60) had all but given up on kardi (as safflower is known in Marathi) — from whose seeds vegetable oil is extracted — several years ago. 'It really did not make sense. The yields were very low,' he said. But this season, his entire 40-acre holding near the town of Manwath in Parbhani was under this lesser-grown oilseed. 'After talks with agriculture scientists of the local Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, I decided to try out the variety, developed by them. The results were amazing. On an average, my yields were around 7-8 quintals an acre. The seeds were premium quality and, on an average, I commanded a price of Rs 5,200 per quintal,' he said. Lad, in fact, moved from wheat as the staple rabi crop to safflower. 'It made more sense,' he said. Although touted as one of the oldest known oilseed, safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) has slowly fallen out of commercial farming for more than one reason. Farmers like Lad said they decided to go for crops like wheat in the rabi season instead of safflower in the past as the per acre yields of the latter were very low. Sold as a premium cooking oil, mostly in boutique cold pressed oil, the seed is used for medicinal purposes also. India produces 35,000-45,000 tonnes of safflower seeds annually. Also for farmers like Lad, the biggest advantage was that the thorny nature of the crop kept it safe from wild animals. Crop loss due to wild animals like wild boar or deer is a serious problem for growers of chana or wheat but safflower is resistant to this, thanks to the thorny nature of the crop. But extremely low yields had seen farmers wean away from the corp. But this problem is being resolved with the Parbhani-headquartered Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth helping farmers like Lad to go back to the crop through their recently released oilseeds variety. Indra Mani Mishra, Vice-Chancellor of the university, said their variety has seen oil content of the seed increase up to 35 per cent. 'Research is on to increase the oil content to around 40 per cent,' he said. For farmers in the arid region of Marathwada in Maharashtra as well as Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, kardi holds many advantages. Its water requirement is much lower than other rabi crops like wheat or gram. Lad said this crop also has a lower requirement of nutrients and is sturdier than most other crops. 'With minimal nutrients and water we can grow this crop,' he said. But the biggest advantage which Lad and other farmers spoke about is the thorny nature of the crop, which prevents animals from damaging it. Crop loss due to wild animals is a serious problem for growers of wheat, maize, gram etc. The prevalence and seriousness of the problem can be gauged from the fact that numerous Members of Parliament (MPs) have raised the issue from time to time. Maharashtra Payment of Compensation for Loss, Injury or Damage Caused by Wild Animals Act, 2023 stipulates payment of damages in case crop is damaged by wild animals. Mishra said the university has developed what he said was a 'seed to seed' mechanisation plan. This would allow farmers to ensure complete mechanisation of the crop even during harvesting. 'By making some changes in the combined harvesters used for wheat, this crop can be harvested thus saving on labour also,' he said. With the official release of this variety, Mishra said this would help growers as well as the country reduce its dependency on imported edible oil.
