A book on “Economics and Technology of Soybean Cultivation in Central India” was launched at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) in the city on Saturday.
The book is authored by director of CESS E. Revathi and associate professor B. Suresh Reddy. The chief guest for the event was NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand, who delivered a speech on cultivation of soybean in India.
Further, a panel comprising Telangana Commissioner of Agriculture M. Raghunandan Rao, scientist from the Indian Institute of Soybean Research, Indore, Sanjay Gupta and director of research Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University R. Jagadeeshwar discussed various aspects of soybean.
Mr. Ramesh Chand said, “Soybean is the fourth largest crop grown in India after Rice, Wheat and Cotton. Soybean in India is a unique case study of agriculture diversification in rainfed agriculture. During the 1970s, the crop was grown in an area of about 30,000 hectares and today it is being grown in a total area of about 12 million hectares. Soybean was introduced in India to address the shortage of protein among the citizens but it ended up as an oil seed crop. It can also be considered as the only green revolution technological success in rainfed agriculture.”
Soybean cultivation is dominated by three countries across the world, Brazil, Argentina and the USA. In India, States which lead the cultivation are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Telangana.
In Telangana, soybean is primarily grown in Adilabad, Nizamabad, Nirmal and Kamareddy. In 2017-18, the Telangana government promoted soybean cultivation by providing seeds at subsidised rate to farmers.
Dr. Gupta added that very little area was under soybean cultivation in India.
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