The Uttar Pradesh government is expecting a bumper harvest of food grains and oilseeds at almost 45 million tonnes (MT) in the coming rabi season 2023-24.
In 2022-23, UP logged rabi cultivation on 13.6 million hectares (MH) and harvest of 42.78 MT.
In the next rabi season 2023-24, the state has estimated cultivation of food grains and oilseed crops on 13.45 MH, and reap higher harvest at 44.86 MT.
Rabi crops, also known as winter crops, are typically grown in October and November, and harvested in spring. Major rabi crop in India include wheat, barley, mustard, maize, sesame and peas.
Owing to remunerative prices and ready market, the Yogi Adityanath government in UP is giving impetus to boosting the production of oilseeds and maize.
In UP, oilseeds area is estimated at 1.3 MH with production pegged at 1.15 MT. The major oilseeds grown in UP include groundnut, mustard, sesame, linseed etc.
India is among the leading oilseeds importers. As such, higher oilseeds production will offer a ready market. In 2021, India imported oilseeds worth $2.39 billion, followed by China and Turkey at $1.34 billion and $1.27 billion respectively.
Moreover, India is also among the top five oilseeds producers with 20 percent of the global oilseeds acreage, yet domestic demand necessitates imports. India produces groundnut, soybean, sunflower, mustard, safflower etc. The country also exports oilseeds.
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Meanwhile, UP is looking at 42.86 MT of food grains and 2 MT of oilseeds production spanning different crops.