Groundnut value chain at Anantapur: A case study in forward integration

Abstract

Groundnuts, one of the major oilseeds, were introduced in India in the first half of the sixteenth-century. By 2003 a total of 8 million hectare was under groundnut cultivation. Andhra Pradhesh and Gujarat are the two main groundnut-producing states. Exhibit 3shows the areas under Groundnut cultivation in India. India has the largest area under groundnut production in the world and is only behind China in terms of total production. Groundnut favors warm and moist climates. Optimum mean temperatures should be 30°C with about 400-500 mm of rainfall during the growing stage4. Given these conditions 80% of the production in India is grown as a Kharif crop. It is also grown as a Rabi crop in the post rain season in parts of the Southern and Southeastern regions. If irrigation is available groundnut can be grown even as summer crop. Exhibit 4 gives a detail of the sowing and harvesting times of the different crops. The lack of irrigation, uneven and uncertain rainfall leads to huge fluctuations in the production of the crop. Additionally the use of poor quality inputs, small landholdings, diseases and pest attacks further restrain the productivity of the farms. Exhibit 5 compares the yields across the states and for India as a whole over the years and also states the yields of the top 5 countries. The low yields compared to other countries have prompted the use of better technologies and farming techniques. Recent technologies like the Chinese Mulching technology holds the promise to improve yields 2-3 times and thus lead to a Peanut Revolution in India. Techniques like Crop Rotation can also help in efficient nutrition utilization leading to better productivity