Sowing area in Marathwada down by 7% amid rainfall deficit

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The cultivation area in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has shrunk by nearly 3.5 lakh hectares this year, with rainfall 20.3 per cent below average, according to agriculture department data.

The sowing area stands at 46.19 lakh hectares – down seven per cent from the five‑year average of 49.72 lakh hectares and 2 lakh hectares less than last year, it said.

Marathwada, comprising Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Parbhani, Nanded, Hingoli, Dharashiv and Latur districts, has received 479.1 mm of rain, 20.3 per cent less against the expected 586.1 mm. The deficit is sharper in Parbhani (34.7 per cent) and Latur (40.6 per cent), as per another official report.

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The contraction is most visible in cash crops. Cotton acreage has dropped by 2.65 lakh hectares to 12.14 lakh hectares, while sugarcane cultivation has plunged from an average of 3.24 lakh hectares to just 43,821 hectares this season, the agriculture department said.

Farmers have shifted towards soybean, maize and sunflower. Soybean acreage has risen by 12 per cent to 25.74 lakh hectares, maize has expanded by five per cent to?? 2.68 lakh hectares, and sunflower cultivation has grown 39 per cent to 2,289 hectares, it added.