Navigating Challenges: Groundnut Cropping Systems Realities in Tumkur District, Karnataka, India

Abstract

India is the fourth largest oilseed producer in the world, contributing 20.80 % of the total global cultivation area and accounting for 10 per cent of the global production. Inspite of this India is one of the largest importers of vegetable oil in order to meet the growing needs of the population by bridging the demand and supply gap. This scenario is due to climatic factor and decrease in area under groundnut cultivation as well as in productivity. Adoption of cutting-edge crop production technologies in our nation led to a significant improvement in the output of oilseeds. Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is called as ‘King’ of oilseeds a key oil seed crop in India, and it plays a significant part in bridging the country's vegetable oil deficit. The present study was conducted during 2023 in Tumkur district of Karnataka to know the constraints faced by the farmers practicing groundnut based cropping systems and suggestions given to overcome the problems. Sixty farmer of each CS-Ⅰ (Groundnut alone) and CS-Ⅱ (Groundnut + Redgram) were selected respectively thus, the total sample size was 120. An ex post facto research design was adopted. Data was collected using a pre-tested personnel interview method. The study revealed the major production, marketing, technical and financial constraints by the faced by the groundnut growers like high wage rate, price fluctuation, low price for the produce, exploitation by the middleman and non-availability of quality inputs at reasonable rate. The majority of these farmers advocate for a reasonable minimum support price for groundnut and seeds and fertilizers availability at affordable rates in time.