Shajapurशाजापुर

What the plan promotes

• ▸Wheat is the dominant crop (about 1.92 lakh ha, 684.69 thousand tonnes in 2021-22), with soybean (282.58 thousand tonnes), gram, maize, coriander and onion also widely grown across the district's 4 blocks and 635 villages.
• ▸Crop loans alone account for ₹3226.09 cr (56% of the plan), making seasonal crop finance the single biggest credit opportunity in Shajapur.
• ▸Irrigation/water-resource term lending is assessed at ₹480.74 cr — the largest allied line — with net irrigated area already at 65% of net sown area and the plan pushing high-density cropping.
• ▸Plantation & horticulture (including sericulture) carries ₹411.78 cr of potential, reflecting recent growth in pulses, oilseeds and horticulture crops.
• ▸Dairy potential is ₹128.61 cr but constrained where Sanchi/Bhopal Dugdh Sangh milk routes don't reach; NABARD wants panchayat-level milk-collection centres set up with bank and Animal Husbandry support.
• ▸MSME credit potential is ₹654.72 cr (term ₹545.60 cr + working capital ₹109.12 cr), with thrust on startups and the One District One Product programme.

Gaps the plan names

• ▸Inadequate food-processing capacity despite good pulses, oilseed and horticulture output — small food-processing units need to be promoted under Agriculture/Horticulture department schemes.
• ▸Weak agricultural extension support — too few Krishi Mitras to advise farmers; their numbers should be increased.
• ▸Absence of milk routes in areas the Sanchi/Bhopal Dugdh Sangh doesn't reach, so farmers don't get fair prices — panchayat-level milk-collection centres should be established.
• ▸No soil-testing laboratories in every block; these should be set up, along with strengthening the extension network and popularising better farm equipment and high-density cropping.
• ▸Gaps in animal health care, too few milk routes, and missing poultry/fish hatcheries and fish markets that hold back livestock and fisheries lending.