ABSTRACT
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru 502324, AP, India. *Corresponding author: h.upadhyaya@cgiar.org
Peanut (groundnut) (Arachis hypogaea L.), an important food legume crop, grown in more than 108 countries representing tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world, extending cultivation between 40°N to 40°S. It ranks 6th among the oilseed crops and 13th among food crops of the world. Globally it is cultivated on 24.1 million ha area, with a total production of 37.6 million tons and average productivity of 1.6 t ha-1 (FAO 2010: https://www.faostat.fao.org). Developing countries account for 96% of the global peanut area and 92% of the global production. Asia accounts for 64% of the global peanut production, while Africa only 28%. In Asia, India and China together produce 57% of the global peanut production. Other countries in Asia that produce substantial peanut include Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam. Peanut in Africa is widely distributed, grown over 50 countries across the continent. Nigeria, Sudan, Senegal, Chad and Ghana together account for 54% of the peanut production in the continent, with Nigeria the leading producer. North America contributes ~5% of the global peanut production, 80% of which is in the USA, the world’s fourthlargest producer. Europe and Oceania contribute less than 1% peanut production.
