Groundnut is one of the world’s fifteen leading food crops and cultivated throughout the world. It is among the most important foods in international trade.

Groundnut is popularly known as peanut in many countries though it is more a pea (a leguminous plant) than a nut. But it is considered as nut because of its high nutritional value. It is less expensive and nourishing food.  

• Groundnut is a cash crop and useful rotation crop.
• It is easy to grow, withstands drought to some extent and so a choice crop for dry farming.
• It is soil erosion resistant crop.
• Being a legume crop it can fix atmospheric nitrogen. Thus maintains soil fertility.
• All parts of this plant can be commercially used.
• The plant stalks are fed to cattle in the form of green, dried and silage.
• Groundnut shell, haulms and hay are good fodder. Groundnut cake is a good feed for livestock and it is also used as manure.

Groundnut is consumed in many ways and various forms.

• Primarily used as a vegetable cooking oil.
• Kernels are used directly as food or snacks for human consumption.
• A large number of food products are prepared from groundnuts - Boiled nuts, roasted nuts, salted nuts, groundnut milk, groundnut yogurt, groundnut bars, groundnut butter, groundnut cheese, bakery products etc.