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MUMBAI, Sept. 23

THE kharif production for the current season is expected to be lower by 15 per cent as sowing is down by 15-20 per cent, Mr Ajit Singh, Minister for Agriculture, has said.

``Although the drought situation is not as bad it was expected to be, the complete absence of crucial July rains may bring down productivity,'' Mr Singh said at the Solvent Extractors' Association's Award Function.

Although, the deficiency in rains is only to the extent of 18 per cent, the prolonged dry spell in July had caused much distress in rural areas, Mr Singh said. ``We have had the worst July in 100 years,'' he said.

Oilseeds production was likely to be impacted but the impact would be lower than in other crops, the Minister said. He added that there was no immediate plan to lower customs duty on imports of oils. ``Nafed has four lakh tonnes of mustard,'' he said. Arguing against changes in customs duty, he said two factors had to be considered — oilseeds acreage should not fall and processing capacity should be protected.

According to him, the biggest liberalisation is required in agriculture. ``Some of the laws which were enacted years ago to help the farmers are now oppressing them,'' he said. The entry of the corporate sector into agriculture and changes in co-operatives were essential for this liberalisation process.

As regards diversification into oilseeds, Mr Singh said remunerative price to the farmers was the only solution to increase oilseeds acreage. However, arriving at an alternative to MSP would be a big problem, he said.

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