There is a Gujarati saying that goes, “Ujjad Pradesh ma eranda pradhan,” which means, “castor rules in the arid/semi-arid land.” The saying certainly holds true in Gujarat’s Kachchh, which is characterised by dry conditions and is the highest castor producing district in the state.

“These sayings are based on years of experience. Castor has traditionally been one of the crops in the mixed farming system practiced in this region. But it was not considered a major crop like pearl millet or green gram which are a part of the staple diet,” said Praveen Muchhadiya of the non-governmental organisation Satvik: Promoting Ecological Farming.

However, gradually, a rising demand for castor globally has led to farmers growing more castor. As more agricultural land is being dedicated to its cultivation in Kachchh, there is a decline in the traditional mixed farming system where up to seven mixed crops were grown together to optimise water usage, improve soil health and seed diversity.

Growing demand for castor

Globally, there is a rising demand for castor oil which is used across sectors such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and animal feed.

India is the world’s largest producer of castor, accounting for 85.02% of the world’s castor seed production. It also leads the castor oil trade, producing 80% of the world’s castor oil supply. In a bid to further push domestic oilseed production, including castor, the government of India launched the National Mission on Edible Oils — Oilseeds this year, with a push on hybrid seeds. Gujarat and Rajasthan are the recommended states for propagation of hybrid castor varieties in this regard.

Gujarat is the largest producer of castor in India. A 2020 report by the Agro-Economic Research Centre said that castor farming in Gujarat is seen as a step forward towards crop diversification and commercialisation of agriculture. The total castor crop in the state’s cropped area has increased from 0.61% in 1972-73 to 5.62% in 2020-21. This increase in acreage in castor farming is more evident in Kachchh — in 2020-21, 1,262 ha (3,118 acres) of land in Kachchh was under castor farming, according to the Directorate of Agriculture (Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Cooperation Department). This increased to 1,328 ha (3,281 acres) in 2021-22, and to 1,905 ha (4,707 acres) in 2022-23.

“Castor is a hardy crop and requires minimal effort in farming. Plus, the economic benefit is good,” Devsi Parmar, a farmer in Adesar village who grows castor in 15 acres of his land, told Mongabay India. In a rain-fed land like his, one can harvest 600-800 kg of castor seeds per acre of land. These are then sold for Rs. 60 per kg. “But if it’s organic, like mine, it is sold for Rs. 70-75 per kg,” he added.

This focus on castor cultivation, however, threatens the region’s community farming knowledge system, Ram-mol, a rainfed, mixed cropping system.

Read more: Traditional cropping system of Ram-mol secures harvest, ensures income security

Mixed farming makes way for more castor

In order to grow more castor, farmers are reducing the farm area dedicated to mixed cropping. “In Kachchh, the Ram-mol or the traditional farming system, typically sees growing seven types of crops: pearl millet, moth bean, green gram, sorghum, cluster bean, sesame and castor,” Muchhadiya said. “But in the last three years, I have seen how castor has become a major crop and how mixed farming has reduced in the 12 villages in my cluster. Moth bean, green gram and bajra and pearl millet cultivation in particular, has reduced,” he told Mongabay India.

Vasharam Karmanbhai Kag, a farmer in Sanva village said that this was primarily because castor reduces the risks associated with food crops. “We are still doing mixed farming but in rain-fed areas where we are dependent on the weather, many factors play a role on whether a crop will give a good harvest or fail. In the case of castor, even if the rains are erratic, it gives a sizeable portion of the expected harvest,” he explained.

Kag, 31, grows castor in 36 acres of his land, most of which — 25 acres — is irrigated. Unlike in rain-fed farming, castor grown in irrigated land can fetch a harvest of 1,000-1,600 kg per acre. Until 2015, Kag’s father practiced rain-fed farming on 25 acres of land, but once availability of water became easier with the Narmada canal, they could irrigate their land and things began to change. “I have studied engineering but left my job of earning Rs. 50,000 per month to do farming. Since 2015, I have bought seven-eight acres of land every year, and today own 70 acres of land in all. Fifty percent of this land is for castor because I know no matter what, this crop will not fail me,” he said. Kag grows cumin and wheat in the rest of his land in winters, and pearl millet and sorghum during the monsoons.

Parmar, on the other hand, practices only rain-fed farming. Almost two decades back, he used to grow more kala cotton, an indigenous variety of cotton in Kachchh. However, as demand for kala cotton reduced and the demand for castor grew, he decided to switch around his farming pattern. “Earlier I used to grow castor in one acre of land and the rest would be for kala cotton. But now it is 90% castor and 10% kala cotton,” he added. Parmar is also a part of a farmers collective named Adesar Vistar Khet Utpadak Producer Company, with 330 farmers who grow organic castor and are expecting a harvest of 700 metric tonnes this season (by April). “After February, we harvest castor three-four times,” he added. Parmar also does mixed farming in a portion of his land, growing green gram and pearl millet, “like most others”, but admits that this portion has reduced over the years for castor.

Kag calls the growing popularity of castor as a simple case of math — “In castor, the risk is low but profit is high. In food crops, the risk is high.”

Food crops like pearl millet also need higher maintenance, said Muchhadiya, unlike castor. “When he grows bajra, a farmer has to visit the field every day to protect against animals like blue bulls (nilgai) and wild boars. Green gram also needs to be tended to. But castor is low maintenance,” he said.

Castor faces challenges too

However, castor farming has been facing its own share of challenges. Among these, extreme variations in temperature, followed by biotic stress, and inadequate or excessive rainfall are three major agro-climatic factors faced by castor farmers. A study on hybrid castor farming in the Banaskantha district in Gujarat also revealed that farmers have been facing an increase in pest attack on their crop. Kachchh, meanwhile, has witnessed an increase in average seasonal rainfall in the last three decades, from 378 mm to 674 mm. As a result, Kag said that there have been times when he has had to remove and replant his castor crop because there was standing water in his land for four-five days. “We plant castor during monsoons, in July-August. If a young crop gets too much water it cannot withstand it; in such cases I have had to remove and replant 30-40% of my crop. This affects the harvest — instead of 1,000 kg, I get around 700-800 kg,” he said.

Ramji bhai Vaghela, another farmer who grows castor on irrigated land, also said that there is a rising need for more fertiliser, translating into more input costs.

Parmar, who is also a part of the Bhuj-based NGO SETU Abhiyan that promotes dryland farming, highlighted that while irrigated land bears better castor harvest, “there is a risk of overwatering, which leads to over usage of fertiliser, and also the risk of pest attacks. In some such cases it has been seen that castor harvest has reduced from 1,800 kg per acre to 1,500 kg,” he said.

Long-term irrigation practices and continuous cultivation can lead to a decline in soil fertility — a risk that V. Vijay Kumar, director of Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology (GUIDE) said must be taken into consideration in agricultural practices. “In irrigated land there is constant cultivation, one crop after the other, which leads to lowering of soil productivity. As a result more fertiliser has to be used. So you are earning more but land degradation is also happening,” he said, “In rain-fed agriculture that is not a problem, but with erratic weather patterns, it is a different challenge.”

Striking a balance

Some farmers however understand the intricate connection between crop rotation — like in their traditional farming system — and soil fertility. So, they rotate their crops — for example, pearl millet and green gram grown in one portion of Parmar’s land is used to grow castor in the next season, and vice versa. “In the traditional mixed farming system, cluster beans are grown for cattle fodder, and it also helps in nitrogen fixation. Moth bean, although not a major crop, spreads across the land and increases soil fertility,” Muchhadiya said. The native variety of castor, he added, remains almost dormant until the companion crops are harvested and then gains height, giving shade to the land and protecting it. The hybrid variety, however, gives better yield, is more disease resistant and is short-term. “I grow the hybrid variety of castor in my irrigated land along with cluster bean. Earlier that entire parcel of land was for mixed cropping,” Vaghela said, “I understand the importance of soil productivity, hence I take care not to overuse the fertiliser. We have to maintain a balance.”

Banner image: Devsi Parmar (right) in a castor field with another farmer in Adesar, Kachchh. Image courtesy of Devsi Parmar.

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Priyanka Shankar Editor

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