Files
Abstract
Today, India is one of the largest producers of oilseeds in the world and this sector occupies an important position in the agricultural economy.
Rajasthan state occupies a prominent place in the oilseeds production of India. The important oilseed crops of the Rajasthan state are groundnut, soyabean, rapeseed & mustard, sesamum and taramira. The growth pattern of these crops in the state has been prone to risk over time and across the agro-climatic regions because of the rainfall behaviour, prolonged drought-periods,
limited water-resources and facilities available in the state Under
such a situation, growth performances of these crops are subjected to
high degree of risks in the sector. Therefore, it is important to describe the
growth pattern of area, production and productivity, factors affecting
acreage allocation under crops and magnitude of instability as well as its
sources in major oilseeds crops of Rajasthan state. The fluctuating yield
has been seen for almost all the oilseeds crops. However, the area and
yield instability of the mustard crop has been found declining overtime
plausibly because of increase in irrigation facilities, location-specific
technologies and better input management. However, this needs to be
further strengthened for improvement in the overall agricultural scenario.
The acreage of the crops has been found to be governed by both price
and non-price factors. Hence, price incentive alone has not been found to
be the sufficient in bringing the desirable change in the cropping pattern
as well production of crops. Hence, a policy for better implementation of
support price system, development of consistently performing varieties
and further enhancement of irrigation facilities will go a long way to ensure
stability in the Rajasthan agriculture. To compel the large yield variability,
it is advisable to the farmers to avail benefits of crop insurance scheme.