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Area under oilseed and pulses cultivation up but oil imports may increase
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Tuesday, 15 April, 2025, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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The area under oilseed and pulses cultivation has increased by more than 50% against last season. According to agricultural experts, farmers are being attracted towards more profitable crops due to the global fall in cotton prices and increasing pest attacks.
In major cotton producing states like Gujarat and Maharashtra, farmers are giving priority to sowing of crops like groundnut, tur dal and maize. According to the Cotton Association, cotton sowing has decreased by 40-60% in Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab.
In addition, the government has announced a six-year programme to increase pulses production, which includes a plan for state agencies to buy the crop from farmers at a fixed price. This was aimed at reducing dependence on imports, with India spending a record $5 billion on pulses imports in 2024.
As a result of these changes, cotton production is estimated to fall by 7% to 302.25 lakh bales in 2024-25, compared to 325.29 lakh bales last year.
Agriculture experts believe that this trend of farmers is an important step towards increasing their income and crop diversification. However, this will impact production of cottonseed oil, as well.
Shankar Thakkar, president, All India Edible Oil Federation, said that due to reduction in cotton crop, the production of cotton oil i.e., Binola will also reduce due to which India will have to import more oil which means if the government promotes one crop then it affects the other crop, hence the government needs to make its strategy, in such a manner that will be complementary to oil seed production.
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