Cumin, onion and mustard have found favour with farmers as sowing of these crops was much higher than the expected sowing area. Overall sowing of rabi crop in the state was about 35% higher than the last year.
Officials said that in 2012-13 the sowing was in an area of 27.23 lakh hectares, which this year it was in 37.36 lakh hectare. The normal sowing of rabi crop in the state is an area of 35.75 lakh hectares. Officials said high prices of onion and cumin have led to extensive sowing in the state. Usually, onion is sown on 53,600 hectares of land, but this year it crossed the 72,500 hectares - an increase of nearly 19,000 hectares. Officials said that this was only 14,000 hectares last year.
Officials said that rabi crop sowing has picked up this year. Agriculture officials said that the sowing of onion was earlier limited to Bhavnagar only, but this year onion has spread across almost all of Saurashtra and Kutch.
Officials in the department said sowing of mustard, cumin, wheat grams and garlic had crossed 100% sowing.
Agriculture department officials said "the sowing of cumin in state was in an area of 4.54 lakh hectares which was in an area of 3.29 lakh hectares. The normal area of sowing was in 3.49 lakh hectares." Similarly the sowing of mustard was in 2.81 lakh hectares, wheat 14.08 lakh hectares, garlic 40100 hectares of land.
Officials said that this year, wheat has also really picked up. Against normal sowing of 12.44 lakh hectares, it was sown on 14.08 lakh hectares.
Officials further said that this year, because of the good rains, check dams and farm ponds which have been constructed especially in water scarce areas are full, and hence sowing has picked up in all districts.
In Saurashtra and Kutch - barring Amreli - all districts have completed 100% sowing. In Saurashtra, sowing takes place on 9.47 lakh hectares and this year it has crossed 12.32 lakh hectares which is on the higher side as compared to previous years.
Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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