The government has set the foodgrain production target for 2017-18 crop year (July-June) at a record 273 mt, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has said.

Farm sector growth in 2017-18 is likely to be 4 per cent following the prediction of a normal monsoon by the Indian Meteorological Department, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

“With the encouraging first-stage forecast of the South West monsoon during kharif 2017, States need to make all necessary arrangements for agricultural inputs for our farmers,” Singh said at a national conference on Tuesday to discuss the sowing strategy for the kharif season.

Foodgrain production in the ongoing 2016-17 crop year is likely to be a record 272 mt, while oilseeds production is expected to touch 33.6 mt, according to the second estimate of the Agriculture Ministry.

The kharif crops, sown in the monsoon season starting June, include rice, pulses (tur, urad and moong), oilseeds (groundnut and soybean), cotton and sugarcane.

Agriculture Secretary Shobhana Pattanayak pointed out that States should plan for all possibilities, including delayed onset of rains, prolonged dry spells and less or excessive rains as rainfall is not uniform throughout the country.

Pattanayak said that good monsoon rains would result in high growth in agriculture. “We expect another year of good monsoons. We expect that 4 per cent agriculture growth rate will be maintained in 2017-18,” she added. To achieve the stated objective of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, Pattanayak laid emphasis on initiatives to reduce the cost of production, bridging the yield gaps in productivity, ensuring better price realisation for farmers and the need to adopt technolgy.

The government has formed eight groups for in-depth discussion on topics, including market reforms (introduction of contract farming, effective role of e-NAM and inter-market trading on e-NAM platform), sustainability of pulses production in the coming season, best mechanisation practices to avoid burning of straw, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, horticulture, and doubling of farmers’ income based on Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand’s recommendations.

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