Informist, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024

By Shreya Shetty

MUMBAI – Farmers in some states of the country are seen shifting from chana to wheat cultivation this rabi season owing to better yields and returns on the cereal, analysts and traders said. The improved availability of water resources in the current rabi season is also propelling the shift, they said.

"Farmers in major chana-producing states such as Madhya Pradesh may be shifting to wheat this rabi season," said Satish Upadhyay, secretary of the India Pulses and Grains Association. Parts of Madhya Pradesh are already seeing farmers prefer wheat over chana, according to a report published by the association Monday. For instance, chana acreage in Dewas district is lower as farmers are plumping for wheat given better water availability, according to the report. Sowing of wheat is also likely to be higher than sowing of chana in districts such as Ashoknagar and Narsinghpur, according to the report.

Traders from the state also see a significant shift to wheat cultivation by farmers. "There is a shift from chana, lentil, coriander, and mustard to wheat in Madhya Pradesh," said Gaurav Kochar, a trader from Ashoknagar. Around 30% of the area that was under chana last year is now under wheat cultivation this rabi season, leading to a possible fall of 20-25% in chana acreage, he said.

In the crop year 2023-24 (Jul-Jun), India produced a total of 11 million tonnes of chana, according to data from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The top producer was Madhya Pradesh at 2.9 million tonnes, followed by Maharashtra at 2.8 million tonnes, Rajasthan at 1.9 million tonnes, Gujarat at 1.1 million tonnes, and Uttar Pradesh at 786,000 tonnes, according to the data.

"In Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, wheat acreage during the current rabi season could be more than chana acreage," said Rahul Chauhan, director at IGrain India, an agricultural commodity research centre. Better return on investment in wheat is among the top reasons for the switch, he said. "Though prices of chana are currently much higher than its minimum support price or the price of wheat, returns on wheat are higher," he said.

In 2023-24 (Jul-Jun), India produced a total of 113.3 million tonnes of wheat, according to data from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Uttar Pradesh was the top producer at 35.3 million tonnes, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 22.6 million tonnes, Punjab at 17.1 million tonnes, Haryana at 11.2 million tonnes, and Rajasthan at 9.7 million tonnes, the data showed.

The total area under wheat cultivation in the country in 2023-24 (Jul-Jun) was 31.83 million hectares, with the highest acreage in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana, in that order, the data shows. On the other hand, total area under chana cultivation in India stood at 9.59 million hectares last year, with the highest acreage in Maharashtra, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.

The minimum support price for chana for 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) is higher at INR 5,440 per 100 kg than the minimum support price for wheat at INR 2,275 per 100 kg. The minimum support prices for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) have been hiked to INR 5,650 per 100 kg for chana, and INR 2,425 per 100 kg for wheat.

Earlier this month, prices of mill quality wheat in Delhi rose to INR 3,200 per 100 kg from INR 2,850 per 100 kg in the same period last year. As of Wednesday, the price of wheat in the benchmark spot market of Kota, Rajasthan, was INR 2,850 per 100 kg, which is higher than the minimum support price of INR 2,275 per 100 kg. Prices stood at INR 2,450 per 100 kg in Kota a year ago.

On the other hand, prices of chana have been on the decline since reaching their peak of INR 8,000 per 100 kg in August. As of Wednesday, the wholesale price of chana stood at INR 6,950-7,000 per 100 kg in the benchmark spot market of Indore in Madhya Pradesh.

"The profit margin on wheat is much more than on chana, especially with prices reaching a peak," Chauhan said. Prices of wheat have been more attractive than prices of chana in the past three years, he said.

Wheat also offers a higher yield than chana, which supports the appeal of its high prices, Upadhyay said. In 2023-24 (Jul-Jun), the average yield of wheat stood at 3,559 kg per hectare, while that of chana stood at 1,151 kg per hectare, according to data from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Farmers also prefer sowing wheat over chana because of higher procurement of the cereal by the government, Chauhan said. "In chana, only 5-10% of the total production in the country is procured by the government. On the other hand, more than 40% of the wheat produced in the country is procured by the Centre without fail," he said.

The shift may be good news for the country. India requires more wheat than chana, said Upadhyay. India consumed 112 million tonnes of wheat in 2023-24 (Apr-Mar), while chana consumption was 10 to 11 million tonnes. "The government needs a surplus in wheat to meet the country's consumption, so they will keep procuring wheat, which assures farmers of definite returns," he said.

Sowing of wheat is also supported by favourable weather and water conditions. The country received better rainfall from the southwest monsoon this year, 8?ove normal at 934.8 mm as of Sept. 30, encouraging the shift towards wheat. In east and west Madhya Pradesh, rains were 23% and 13?ove normal, respectively, while in west and east Rajasthan, they were higher by 71% and 47%, respectively, according to the India Meteorological Department. However, in east Uttar Pradesh, rainfall was 7?low normal, while it was 11?ove normal in western parts of the state.

As such, the water levels available for irrigation of rabi crops are better this year. As of Nov. 7, the water level in reservoirs across Madhya Pradesh was 12?ove the normal storage levels, while in Rajasthan it was 17?ove normal levels, data from the Central Water Commission showed. In Uttar Pradesh, reservoir levels are 27?ove normal levels, the data showed.

"The current weather is suitable for wheat and so farmers shift from mustard and chana to wheat," a trader from Kota said. "Soil moisture content is also high, which encourages farmers to prefer wheat over chana." Chana can still be sown when rainfall is below normal and the soil has lower moisture content, which happened last year, he said.

The southwest monsoon last year was affected by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which led to patchy rainfall across the country. This ultimately led to a lower output in food grains, pushing up their prices across the country.

While Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are seeing some farmers shifting to wheat, the same cannot be said about other major chana-producing states. "Farmers in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka will not switch as the climate in these states is not suitable for growing wheat," Chauhan said. "Wheat needs colder temperatures."

Ankit Kedia, a trader from Akola in Maharashtra, agreed. "Chana farmers in Maharashtra cannot switch to wheat as the state has much hotter temperatures, which causes problems with moisture retention in the soil," Kedia said. "Chana is mostly sown in the interior of the state, where it can flourish amid higher temperatures and lower water availability."

With inputs from J. Navya Sruthi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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