State’s soyabean acreage up 225% in a decade
AHMEDABAD: Soyabean has been sown on a record 2.65 lakh hectares in Gujarat this year, a 225% increase from the 81,500 hectares sown with the crop in 2013. The increase is attributed to the growing demand for soy-fortified multigrain flour and its use as feed in poultry and inland fish farms.
Soyabean acreage has been increasing constantly, but the spurt has been more pronounced since 2021, as the protein-rich legume finds favour with the farmers of Gujarat.
Sources in the agriculture department said the acreage sown with soyabean was 74,500 hectares in 2014. It increased to 1.37 lakh hectares in 2016, crossed 2 lakh hectares in 2021 and has been constantly increasing. This figure is expected to increase further as sowing continues till October.
Experts say there are multiple factors behind this. Till half a decade ago, Gujarat farmers were not very interested in soyabean. Figures from the Gujarat State Edible Oils and Oil Seeds Association (GSEOOSA) show that the increase is due to soyabean’s lower cost of cultivation and increasing demand. Trilok Agarwal , president of the Gujarat Flour Mills Association, said demand for soyabean is increasing and farmers are also getting good prices for their produce. Soyabean cake, the leftovers after extraction of oil, also finds takers. De-oiled cake is used in multigrain flour, which is increasingly in demand.
Middle-income families are also fortifying their chapati flour with flour from local mills to enhance its protein content. Multigrain bread is also available in bakeries, he said.
The primary product of soyabean is its oil, demand for which has been growing for the past few years. This season, soya growing in Saurashtra was significantly higher due to the crop’s greater resilience to changing climatic conditions and its low cost of cultivation. This gives farmers better returns with less effort,” said
