Expect a bumper kharif output of 144.5 mt: Agri Ministry

Bountiful and well-spread monsoon rains may help the country reap a record kharif foodgrain harvest of 144.52 million tonnes (mt) — a tad higher than the 143.38 mt, which was the previous best, according to First Advance crop estimates released by the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday.

Oilseeds and cotton, too, are projected to yield much more than last kharif season. As against the previous season’s production of 22.32 mt, oilseeds output is estimated to be 25.73 mt, while cotton production may scale a new high of 37.12 million bales (of 170 kg each) as compared to 35.49 million bales in last kharif season.

Setting new records

Two crops that would rewrite records in terms of output would be rice and groundnut. An increased sowing may push rice production to 102.36 mt as against 101.98 mt in the 2019-20 kharif season, while groundnut output is estimated to touch 9.54 mt (8.37 mt). A substantial jump is expected in pulses production, with all major pulses crops such as urad, moong and tur pitching in. Total kharif pulses production is slated to be 9.31 mt (7.72 mt).

Even though the overall output of coarse cereals is expected to dip to 32.84 mt (33.69 mt), maize production is expected to do better with 19.88 mt, which is higher than 19.63 mt last year. However, bajra output may fall by over one million tonnes and ragi, too, would see a slump in production.

Output of other major kharif oilseed crop soyabean is projected to be 21 per cent higher at 13.58 mt. But the soyabean growing areas have subsequently witnessed heavy rains which may have an impact on the final production numbers. Better than average summer rains and subsequent monsoon, which was 7 per cent more than the normal so far, have helped farmers to take to early kharif planting this year. Besides, water level in most reservoirs in the country was at comfortable level before the season began.