Gandhinagar: Wheat cultivators in Gujarat never had it so good। If weather remains favourable in the next few weeks, they expect to harvest a record 33 to 34 lakh tonnes of wheat this year, which is four times higher than in 2002-03 (8,27,700 tonnes), and double compared to the year 2004-05 (17,53,600 tonnes).
What is more, Gujarat’s wheat productivity is expected to increase by 10 per cent (3।5 tonnes per hectare) and the State is racing to catch up with Punjab’s productivity (5-6 tonnes per hectare) in the next few years. The nation’s highest yield of 10 tonnes per hectare was reported from Ludhiana last year.
Punjab is expected to produce more than 15 million tonnes of wheat this year। Some farmers in Gujarat, like Manharbhai Chhotubhai Patel of village Umbhed under Kamrej taluka of Surat district, or Mrs Leelaben Shukarbhai Bhoi of village Gadad under Ahwa taluka of the Dangs, have partially switched over from their traditional sugarcane or paddy to wheat this year.
Wheat is, however, yet to be cultivated as a cash crop replacing another as in Saurashtra where the area under groundnut came down from 19 lakh hectares to 16 lakh hectares with farmers gradually shifting to high-yielding cash crop of cotton in the last four years।
Contributing factors
A number of factors have contributed to Gujarat emerging as a wheat-major State in India। An extended and favourable winter with average temperatures less than 20 degrees Celsius, using high-yielding seed varieties (GW496, GW322, GW366 etc), increased availability of water for irrigation and land for cultivation have contributed to this growth, Dr SPS Tikka, Director (Research), Sardar Krishinagar Dantiwada Agriculture University, told Business Line.
Of the total geographic area of 188 lakh hectares, Gujarat’s cultivable area is nearly half of it। Four years ago, the area under kharif and rabi crops was 79 lakh hectares and 17 lakh hectares, respectively, which have now increased to 88 lakh hectares and 33 lakh hectares.
The land under wheat has increased from nearly seven lakh hectares five years ago to 13 lakh hectares in 2007-08। With the Sardar Sarovar project’s Narmada waters made available through a 337-km-long canal system having a 2,000 cusecs water retention capacity, an additional 2.87 lakh hectares of land has been brought under cultivation during the last three years.
Rainfall
Official sources said that several other factors have also contributed to increased wheat production, the single biggest being the smiling weather gods। The average rainfall in three years has been 1,200 mm per annum and the average water table across the state has gone up by four to five metres, including in the Saurashtra and North Gujarat regions which were drought-hit till a few years ago.
As part of the water harvesting programme, more than one lakh check-dams have been constructed while two lakh farm ponds have been dug. Until four years ago, 70 per cent of Gujarat farmers depended only on the rains due to near unavailability of underground water for farming purposes in many areas. They no longer depend on the rains.
This has also solved the problem of power shortage in some areas as farmers find it easier to irrigate more area in less time। Due to these reasons, wheat productivity in some parts of Saurashtra has increased from 35 quintals to 45 quintals per hectare. In North Gujarat also, it has increased from 26 quintals in 2001-02 to 27.5 quintals in 2005-06 and now 30 quintals.
Government role
Interestingly, the Narendra Modi Government has played an active role in changing the mindset of farmers। Since June 2005, it organised ‘Krishi Mahotsava’ across the State as an annual farming festival by sending officials and agro-scientists to directly meet farmers.
In this “lab-to-land” programme, more than 700 experts fanned out to the fields in a month-long drive every year as 226 ‘Kisan Raths’ rolled out to the villages popularising the latest farming techniques। The authorities, led by the former Agriculture Minister, Mr Bhupendrasinh Chudasma, himself a farmer, educated farmers on balanced inputs, which has reduced the use of fertilisers from 50 kg per hectare to 25 kg on an average.
This increased the land’s productivity and fertility at a lesser cost and increased both quality and quantity of the yield. Additionally, the government distributed 17 lakh ‘soil health cards’ to individual farmers as well as villages informing them about the crops they should take in their particular land for better yield
What is more, Gujarat’s wheat productivity is expected to increase by 10 per cent (3।5 tonnes per hectare) and the State is racing to catch up with Punjab’s productivity (5-6 tonnes per hectare) in the next few years. The nation’s highest yield of 10 tonnes per hectare was reported from Ludhiana last year.
Punjab is expected to produce more than 15 million tonnes of wheat this year। Some farmers in Gujarat, like Manharbhai Chhotubhai Patel of village Umbhed under Kamrej taluka of Surat district, or Mrs Leelaben Shukarbhai Bhoi of village Gadad under Ahwa taluka of the Dangs, have partially switched over from their traditional sugarcane or paddy to wheat this year.
Wheat is, however, yet to be cultivated as a cash crop replacing another as in Saurashtra where the area under groundnut came down from 19 lakh hectares to 16 lakh hectares with farmers gradually shifting to high-yielding cash crop of cotton in the last four years।
Contributing factors
A number of factors have contributed to Gujarat emerging as a wheat-major State in India। An extended and favourable winter with average temperatures less than 20 degrees Celsius, using high-yielding seed varieties (GW496, GW322, GW366 etc), increased availability of water for irrigation and land for cultivation have contributed to this growth, Dr SPS Tikka, Director (Research), Sardar Krishinagar Dantiwada Agriculture University, told Business Line.
Of the total geographic area of 188 lakh hectares, Gujarat’s cultivable area is nearly half of it। Four years ago, the area under kharif and rabi crops was 79 lakh hectares and 17 lakh hectares, respectively, which have now increased to 88 lakh hectares and 33 lakh hectares.
The land under wheat has increased from nearly seven lakh hectares five years ago to 13 lakh hectares in 2007-08। With the Sardar Sarovar project’s Narmada waters made available through a 337-km-long canal system having a 2,000 cusecs water retention capacity, an additional 2.87 lakh hectares of land has been brought under cultivation during the last three years.
Rainfall
Official sources said that several other factors have also contributed to increased wheat production, the single biggest being the smiling weather gods। The average rainfall in three years has been 1,200 mm per annum and the average water table across the state has gone up by four to five metres, including in the Saurashtra and North Gujarat regions which were drought-hit till a few years ago.
As part of the water harvesting programme, more than one lakh check-dams have been constructed while two lakh farm ponds have been dug. Until four years ago, 70 per cent of Gujarat farmers depended only on the rains due to near unavailability of underground water for farming purposes in many areas. They no longer depend on the rains.
This has also solved the problem of power shortage in some areas as farmers find it easier to irrigate more area in less time। Due to these reasons, wheat productivity in some parts of Saurashtra has increased from 35 quintals to 45 quintals per hectare. In North Gujarat also, it has increased from 26 quintals in 2001-02 to 27.5 quintals in 2005-06 and now 30 quintals.
Government role
Interestingly, the Narendra Modi Government has played an active role in changing the mindset of farmers। Since June 2005, it organised ‘Krishi Mahotsava’ across the State as an annual farming festival by sending officials and agro-scientists to directly meet farmers.
In this “lab-to-land” programme, more than 700 experts fanned out to the fields in a month-long drive every year as 226 ‘Kisan Raths’ rolled out to the villages popularising the latest farming techniques। The authorities, led by the former Agriculture Minister, Mr Bhupendrasinh Chudasma, himself a farmer, educated farmers on balanced inputs, which has reduced the use of fertilisers from 50 kg per hectare to 25 kg on an average.
This increased the land’s productivity and fertility at a lesser cost and increased both quality and quantity of the yield. Additionally, the government distributed 17 lakh ‘soil health cards’ to individual farmers as well as villages informing them about the crops they should take in their particular land for better yield
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