Gujarat

ਰਾਜ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ

Gujarat is India's premier cash-crop and dairy economy, with the country's #1 production of cotton (Bt cotton revolution started here — Navsari, Bharuch), groundnut, castor (~85% of national output, world's largest exporter), cumin (Unjha mandi), isabgol (psyllium husk), and fennel. The state has 196,024 km² covering five distinct geographies: the mainland north (alluvial Gujarat plains — Mehsana, Ahmedabad), the central (Charotar - Anand-Kheda dairy belt), south (humid Surat-Bharuch-Navsari cane/banana belt), Saurashtra (rainfed groundnut-cotton peninsula), and Kachchh (arid desert-pomegranate-mango Kesar). Roughly 50% of the workforce is in agriculture and allied activities.

Gujarat is home to Amul — the world's largest dairy cooperative, with daily milk procurement exceeding 30 million litres — pioneered by Tribhuvandas Patel and Verghese Kurien. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) sells in 60+ countries. The state is the #1 producer of milk in India (~17% of national output, mostly buffalo). On the policy side, Gujarat operates Mukhyamantri Kisan Sahay Yojana — a unique premium-free crop insurance covering drought, flood and unseasonal rain — and the Suryashakti Kisan Yojana for solar irrigation with grid feed-in revenue. Sardar Sarovar Dam commissioning (2017) transformed Saurashtra and Kachchh agriculture by extending the Narmada canal.

ਮਿੱਟੀ ਪ੍ਰੋਫ਼ਾਈਲ

Gujarat's soils are diverse. Medium black (vertisol) soils dominate central and southern Gujarat (Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat — the famous Bhalia wheat belt). Light grey/sandy desert soils in Kachchh and north Saurashtra — historically saline and water-stressed. Coastal alluvial soils along the Gulf of Khambhat and Gulf of Kachchh. Red-loamy soils in eastern tribal belt (Dahod, Panchmahal, Dangs). Saurashtra is famous for its medium-black-on-basalt groundnut soils (Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar). Saline-alkaline patches in Little Rann of Kachchh and coastal Bhal. Gujarat has India's most advanced microirrigation rollout — GGRC (Gujarat Green Revolution Co.) has deployed drip on 12+ lakh ha.

ਜਲ ਸਰੋਤ

Rainfall 800 mm average — but ranges from 350 mm in Kachchh to 2000 mm in the Dangs. The Sardar Sarovar Dam (Narmada) is the second-largest concrete dam in the world (138 m) — commissioned 2017 — and irrigates 1.8 million ha across Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan via the Narmada Main Canal (the world's longest irrigation canal at 458 km). Sujalam Sufalam Yojana rejuvenated 32,000 minor tanks. Gujarat is the #1 state for solar-pump installations under Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) — farmers feed surplus solar power back to grid at ₹3.5/kWh. Drip-on-cotton has saved 35–40% water vs flood (GGRC monitoring).

ਬਿਘਾ ਬਦਲਾਅ

In Gujarat, one bigha ≈ 0.4 acres (17,427 sq ft). Vigha = bigha. See the area unit converter for instant conversions to acres, hectares, guntha, gaj and katha.

Cropping calendar

Gujarat's calendar reflects its dryland-cash-crop dominance. Kharif sowing in mid-June after monsoon onset — cotton (Bt) is the largest crop, line-sown in raised beds with mulch in central/south Gujarat, and rainfed in Saurashtra-Kachchh. Groundnut is sown June-July, harvested October-November (Gujarat is India's #1 groundnut). Bajra is the kharif staple in Banaskantha-Mehsana. Castor (the unique Gujarat speciality) is sown September-October in Mehsana-Patan, harvested January-March — Gujarat produces 85% of national castor. Rabi wheat is sown October-December in Bhalia GI belt (Bhavnagar-Amreli — a special soft-grain bhalia variety). Cumin is sown October-November in Banaskantha-Patan-Mehsana with harvest February-March. Mango (Kesar GI) is the famous Gir orchard crop — flowering Dec-Jan, harvest April-June.

MSP procurement & mandi network

Gujarat's MSP procurement is groundnut-heavy — over 10 lakh tonnes/year procured by NAFED/GUJCOMASOL under price-support operations. Cotton procurement is operated by CCI (Cotton Corporation of India) through 200+ ginning centres. The 2025-26 MSP for groundnut is ₹7,263/q, cotton (medium staple) ₹7,710/q, wheat ₹2,585/q. Gujarat does not procure rice (minor crop). APMC infrastructure: 215 regulated mandis under GSAMB (Gujarat State Agricultural Marketing Board) — most famous is the Unjha mandi (world's largest cumin and isabgol auction). The state's GGRC (Gujarat Green Revolution Co) has rolled out micro-irrigation on 12+ lakh ha (highest in India after Andhra) with 50-90% capital subsidy. Mukhyamantri Kisan Sahay Yojana offers premium-free drought/flood/hail coverage of up to ₹25,000/ha.

District-wise crop concentrations

District concentrations: cotton Bt (top — Rajkot, Surendranagar, Bhavnagar, Amreli, Junagadh, Botad — Saurashtra peninsula); groundnut (top — Junagadh, Rajkot, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Porbandar); castor (top — Banaskantha, Mehsana, Patan, Sabarkantha); wheat (top — Surendranagar, Mehsana, Banaskantha, Patan, Ahmedabad — incl. Bhalia GI belt); cumin (top — Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana — Unjha mandi the global hub); isabgol (top — Banaskantha, Sabarkantha); mango Kesar GI (top — Gir-Talala area of Junagadh-Amreli); banana (top — Bharuch, Surat, Anand, Narmada — Bharuch GI); dairy buffalo (top — Banaskantha-Mehsana-Sabarkantha — Banas Dairy is the world's largest single dairy plant). Tribal east-Gujarat (Dahod, Panchmahal, Dangs) focuses on maize and minor millets.

Climate-resilience & soil-test interpretation

Gujarat has India's most advanced water-use efficiency infrastructure through the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Project (commissioned 2017 — irrigates 1.8 million ha) and GGRC microirrigation rollout. The state cycles between drought (2002, 2018) and flood (2006, 2017 — Banaskantha) — Mukhyamantri Kisan Sahay provides direct cash payouts under drought/flood/hail without insurance-premium burden on farmers. Cyclone risk has intensified: Tauktae (May 2021) affected Saurashtra-Kachchh, causing mango/banana/coconut damage. The Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) is a unique grid-tied solar-pump scheme — 25 kW units feed surplus power back to grid at ₹3.5/kWh, generating farmers ₹50-60,000/year additional income while drawing groundwater on solar. Salinity ingression in Saurashtra coastal aquifers and the Banas-Bhal salinity belt are major ongoing challenges.

ਸਥਾਨਕ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ

Gujarati in the Gujarati script (a Brahmic abugida, derived from Devanagari but without horizontal bar/*shirorekha*) is the sole official language. Kachchhi is widely spoken in Kachchh (an unwritten dialect of Sindhi-Gujarati continuum). Land records on AnyRoR (Any Record of Rights) — Form 7/12, 8A — are in Gujarati with English support.