Farmers in Rajasthan and southern Haryana are turning to bajra this kharif season due to its short maturity and low water needs amid 42.3 percent below-normal rainfall so far.
Ramsingh Meena, a farmer from Jalalpura village in Rajasthan’s Dausa district, has sown bajra on his 50-bigha holding after pre-monsoon showers in early June. He noted that the crop matures in 85-90 days and fits well before mustard or wheat planting.
Bajra requires at most three irrigations per acre along with modest fertiliser use. Satyender Singh of Crystal Crop Protection Ltd said this compares favourably with cotton, wheat and mustard.
Market prices stand at around Rs 2,000 per quintal against the government MSP of Rs 2,900. Farmers including Ramchandra Choudhary have called for full MSP payment without yield caps under state schemes.
Hybrid seeds such as Proagro 9001 and Pioneer 86M94 dominate an estimated Rs 720 crore market. Acreage has also shifted from cotton affected by pink bollworm.
