Maize area doubled in the state; know why and how much the area increased

The central government has promoted the production of ethanol from maize. The demand for maize for animal feed, poultry feed and fodder has increased. As a result of all this, maize cultivation has doubled to 4.84 lakh hectares in this year’s Rabi season.
The sowing of the Rabi season in the state has been completed. The cultivation has increased by 10 lakh 59 thousand 931 hectares compared to the average. Mainly, the cultivation of maize has doubled. The average area of ​​maize was 2 lakh 58 thousand 321 hectares. Last year, sowing was done on 3 lakh 37 thousand 935 hectares, this year it has been done on 4 lakh 84 thousand 11 hectares.
The central government has promoted the production of ethanol from maize. There is a demand for maize as animal feed and chicken feed. Maize is widely used as fodder for livestock. Due to this, the price of maize went up to Rs 30 per kg last year. Due to this, there has been a huge increase in maize cultivation across the country during the Rabi season. The situation is similar in the state too. Maize cultivation has increased twice as compared to the average.
According to the information provided by the Agriculture Department, the average area sown in the Rabi season in the state is 53 lakh 96 thousand 969 hectares. Last year’s sowing area was 57 lakh 80 thousand 999 hectares. This year, sowing has been done on 64 lakh 56 thousand 900 hectares. There has been an increase of 10 lakh 59 thousand 931 hectares in the Rabi sowing compared to the average.
There has been a decline in the area under rabi jowar. The average area was 17.53 lakh hectares, which has come down to 15.40 lakh hectares. The average area under wheat was 10.48 lakh hectares, which has gone up to 13.06 lakh hectares this year.
The area under gram was 21.52 lakh hectares, which has increased to 28.86 lakh hectares. The area under cultivation of other pulses including matki, lentils was 1.17 lakh hectares, which has increased to 1.59 lakh hectares this year. The area under oilseeds was on average 55.66 thousand hectares, which was 72.69 thousand last year, and this year it has increased to 68.81 thousand hectares. The area under oilseeds has decreased this year. The area under safflower was on average 26.65 thousand hectares, which was 43.36 thousand hectares last year, and this year it has decreased to 34.65 thousand hectares. 5917 hectares of linseed, 2029 hectares of sesame, 2354 hectares of sunflower and 23,857 hectares of mustard, groundnut etc. have been cultivated.
Reflection of the situation in the country in the state
This year, there has been a huge increase in wheat and maize cultivation at the national level. Although the area under wheat in the state is not much, it has increased by three lakh hectares compared to the average. The area under maize has increased from 2.58 lakh to 4.84 lakh. Due to the import of edible oil, oilseeds are not getting guaranteed prices. Due to the import of pulses, pulses are also not getting guaranteed prices. Due to this, there is a decrease in the cultivation of oilseeds and pulses in the state.
Ethanol has increased corn cultivation
The central government has promoted the production of ethanol from maize. There is a good demand for maize as an animal feed, poultry feed and fodder crop. Due to this, there has been a big increase in maize cultivation in this Rabi season, informed Rafiq Naikwadi, Director of Agriculture (Development and Extension).
Source : loksatta