Despite the erratic monsoon, the country’s foodgrain production in the current crop year may touch the targetted 250 million tonnes (mt). “We are aiming for 250 mt this year. Though total foodgrain production cannot be the same as last year the kharif output is seen better-than-expected,” Agriculture Secretary, Ashish Bahuguna, told reporters.
Last year, the country’s food grain production stood at 257.44 mt with record rice output of 104 mt and wheat at 94 mt.
Bahuguna said wheat production this year is likely to be closer to last year’s level, while mustard and chana crop are looking good. The impact of frost hurting the mustard crop recently would be negligible, he said.
In its first advance estimates, the Agriculture Ministry had forecast a 10 per cent drop in kharif output at 117.18 mt, due to erratic monsoon and it expects to revise the numbers soon. The kharif output in 2011-12 stood at a record 129.94 mt.
Current rabi crops such as wheat and maize are doing well, Bahuguna said. However, the size of wheat output would be largely decided by the temperatures in February and March, Bahuguna said.
The Agriculture Secretary maintained that certain crops such as sunflower, jowar and bajra were facing stress. Rice transplantation was at a sluggish pace due to the poor availability of water in states such as Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, he said.