There was no benefit in planting despite the initial rains, peanuts would set a record in Gujarat

Ahmedabad, 11 July 2020
One lakh hectare more has been planted in this time period as compared to last year. Which shows about 4.8 percent more. This means that this monsoon is the same for last year’s farmers. Last year, 23.65 lakh hectares were planted as against 22.64 lakh hectares.
Although the monsoon started at the beginning of this year, there has been no benefit in sowing. The benefit of early monsoon is seen only in groundnut cultivation in Saurashtra. Sowing was done on 12 lakh hectares in this period last year, this year it has increased to 18 lakh hectares. Groundnut has been planted 50 per cent more than last year. The normal average was 1.5 million hectares but it has increased to 18 lakh hectares. It literally means that peanuts have incredible plantings. The direct and biggest benefit of premature rains has been to the peanut growing farmers. Groundnut has been sown 20 percent above average. It is still likely to grow. Where peanuts have not been sown, this time peanuts will break many years of records. 120 percent higher than the normal average.

The average for the 3 years 2015-16-17 was 15.70 lakh hectares which decreased to 15.40 hectares in 2016-17-18. Now that planting has taken place at this time, peanuts have a tendency for farmers to break past records.

When Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001, there were 1.60 lakh farmers with less than 05 hectares or 4 bighas of land. During his 10-year rule, the number of extremely poor farmers below 4 bighas rose to 2.12 lakh. 52 thousand fewer landless farmers went. Which is expected to increase to 3.20 lakh in 2021. Thus, in the total 20 years of Modi’s rule, the number of small poor farmers in Gujarat has increased by 100 percent.
That is why poor farmers have gone on their own to grow peanuts. Because expensive farming of cotton and other crops is not cheap for these small poor farmers.