Growth Trends and Instability of Sunflower in Karnataka: An Inter-Districts and Inter-Divisional Analysis

Background: Indian vegetable oil economy is world’s fourth largest after USA, China and Brazil. India was a net exporter of oilseeds and edible oils till 1960s but with stagnation in production and increasing demand for edible oils, India became net importer of edible oils by late-1970s. The government decided to achieve self-sufficiency in edible oilseeds through various policy/schemes such as NODP (1984-85), TMO (1986), OPDP (1991-92) was launched under the TMOP and ISOPOM (2004-05). Karnataka is the sixth largest state in area and production of oilseeds crops in India. Among the oilseed crops, sunflower accounts highest in area (36.71%) and production in state. Hence, the study was undertaken in Karnataka state with the objectives of assessing the growth and instability of sunflower production. Methods: The growth trends and instability analysis of sunflower was corrie out in Karnataka. The four divisions of the states viz., Bangalore, Mysore, Belgaum and Gulbarga with 30 districts were selected for the study. The data pertaining to area, production and yield of sunflower were collected from many secondary sources and analysed for the period I: 1975-1995 (Pre-WTO), Period II: 1995-2015 (Post-WTO) and whole period: 1975-2015 by using CAGR and CDI Index. Result: The growth pattern of sunflower showed a downward trend with respect of area, production and yield in all the four regions of the state during the period II than compared to period I. It might reflect the adverse effect of modern technology on production of sunflower in Karnataka state. The study indicated that the fluctuation in area, production and yield of sunflower were higher during post-WTO period when compared to pre-WTO period in across the districts and divisions. The mixed trend was observed during whole period with respect to growth and instability of sunflower production.