Maharashtra To See 10.2% Growth In Agriculture Sector

According to the Maharashtra Economic Survey 2022–23, the agriculture and related industry, which supports the state's rural economy and employs 55% of the population, will expand by 10.2% in the current fiscal year.

The strong monsoon and lack of drought for the previous three years are credited with the predicted rise. In 2022, the state saw monsoon rain at a rate of 119.8%. There were 355 talukas in all; of those, 204 had excessive rainfall, 145 had moderate rains, and only six had insufficient rainfall (excluding those in Mumbai city and Mumbai suburban districts).

The expected increase of 10.2% looks to be a huge improvement over the advanced projection (2021–22) of 4.4% and the first updated estimate of 11.4%. On 157.97 lakh hectares, a smaller area than the 163.79 lakh hectares sown in the previous year's kharif season 2022–23.

It is anticipated that production of grains, oilseeds, cotton, and sugarcane will rise by 10%, 19%, 5%, and 4%, respectively. Nonetheless, it is anticipated that overall pulse production will drop precipitously by 37% from the previous year.

The 2022–23 rabi crop, which was grown on 57.74 lakh hectares, exhibits a reversal of trend. While the production of pulses is predicted to increase by 34%, that of grains and oilseeds is predicted to decline by 13%.

The expanded area planted with sugarcane is a major factor in the expansion. The average area planted with sugarcane increased to 14.88 lakh hectares from 12.32 lakh hectares on average. Up till four years ago, the state's average acreage under sugar cultivation was 9.89 lakh hectares. Farmers in the drought-stricken Marathwada region began relying more on cash crops as sugar plantations and production increased.

Cotton which is widely grown in parts of Vidarbha and Marathwada recorded an increase in the area of plantation (42.29 lakh hectares) and production (81.92 metric tonnes) in 2022-23.

The area under horticulture crops was 23.46 lakh hectares in 2022-23 compared to th2 23.92 lakh hectares in 2021-22. The area under fruit crops stands at 8.32 lakh hectares in 2022-23 of which mango has the largest share of 1.64 lakh hectares. This is followed by pomegranate (1.56 lakh hectares), grapes (1.19 lakh hectares), mandarin orange (1.20 lakh hectares), banana (0.91 lakh hectares) and mosambi (0.65 lakh hectares). For vegetables, the total is at 11.62 lakh hectares in 2022-23 of which onion is the highest at 9.18 lakh hectares, followed by tomato (0.60 lakh hectares) and green chillies (0.33 lakh hectares).

Millet cultivation has dropped despite promises from the BJP-Shiv Sena government to promote it. The area under millets stood at 72.30 lakhs around 20 years ago but has dropped to 23.07 lakh hectares in 2021-22.

The Maharashtra Millet Mission promotes concepts like “millet of the month” and “shet tithe poushtik trundhanya” to popularize it. Small and marginal farmers in Vidarbha and Marathwada are encouraged to take up millet farming, while the government tackles the irrigation problem.