The Hindu : National : Floods hit sowing of pulses, oilseeds

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Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005

National

National

Floods hit sowing of pulses, oilseeds

Special Correspondent

Farmers in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh waiting for waters to recede

NEW DELHI: Kharif sowing has picked up in the last one week, although it is still not at a level seen in the corresponding period last year. Floods have hit sowing of pulses and oilseeds.

At an inter-ministerial review meeting here on Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Radha Singh sought details of replacement seeds made available to farmers by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research.

Tour States, officials told

She asked officials to undertake tours and come up with detailed estimates of sowing in the dry pockets of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Rajasthan, eastern Uttar Pradesh and parts of Maharashtra, where monsoon was delayed. Thirteen out of 36 districts have been deficient in rain.

The meeting was informed that farmers were waiting for flood waters to recede in parts of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh to undertake sowing.

Cultivation of pulses has been taken up on 11.94 lakh hectares compared to 27.44 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year. The area under oilseeds is 43.26 lakh hectares (74.85 lakh hectares).

So far the total area under rice is 54.85 lakh hectares against 67.27 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year.

Cotton coverage is 31.53 lakh hectares (45.91 lakh hectares).

The area under coarse cereals is 69.96 lakh hectares compared to 88.49 lakh hectares during last year. It is 41.29 lakh hectares under sugarcane (37.47 lakh hectares). The coverage under jute is 7.88 lakh hectares (7.69 lakh hectares).

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