There is estimation that the over all farm growth in India would reach a record high and be 3.4 per cent more than the current estimates after data suggested that the crop year that ended in June would be a record 284.83 million tonnes.
However, the increased production has not been beneficial to farmers because of a slump in prices because of the bumper harvest.
“In hindsight, the price fall in pulses and other crops was justified because of the bumper harvest,” said India government’s Agriculture Secretary S K Pattanayak.
The 2016-17 crop year was the previous record for crop production. Rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses comprise the foodgrain basket.
“As a result of near-normal rainfall during the monsoon of 2017 and various policy initiatives, the country has witnessed a record food grain production in 2017-18,” the ministry said in a statement.
The record production has been driven by growth in pulses and the Department of Agriculture estimates that the production of pulses for the crop year 2017-18 reach an all-time high of 25.23 metric tonns which would be 2.1 metric tonns more the final production of 2016-17. This is the second consecutive year that the crop production in India has been at record highs and this has raised hopes that if this trend continues, India could become self sufficient in crops.
“Pulses production in all likelihood might not go down below 23 MT in the worst of conditions, but oilseeds output remains a challenge,” another senior official of the agriculture ministry said.
According to a report in The Times of India, this was the fourth and final estimate released by the government.
The report also said that the ongoing sowing operations for the summer crops indicates that the year would be a good year for farm crop production even though it might not reach record production highs as was reached last year for this crop season.
The production increase has bene achieved despite the total sown area this year being almost the same as last year's, the report claimed. The total sown area under summer crop stood at around 100 million hectares as of Aug. 24, as compared to 100.8 million hectares at this time last year, which is only 1.3 percent less.
The report also quoted a Indian government official saying that the storage levels of water in most of the reservoirs and water bodies throughout the country was "quite good" and that would be an aiding factor for farmers this farming season. Additionally, moisture in the soil would be retained for winter crops because of good rains in many parts of India.
(Source:www.business-standard.com)
However, the increased production has not been beneficial to farmers because of a slump in prices because of the bumper harvest.
“In hindsight, the price fall in pulses and other crops was justified because of the bumper harvest,” said India government’s Agriculture Secretary S K Pattanayak.
The 2016-17 crop year was the previous record for crop production. Rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses comprise the foodgrain basket.
“As a result of near-normal rainfall during the monsoon of 2017 and various policy initiatives, the country has witnessed a record food grain production in 2017-18,” the ministry said in a statement.
The record production has been driven by growth in pulses and the Department of Agriculture estimates that the production of pulses for the crop year 2017-18 reach an all-time high of 25.23 metric tonns which would be 2.1 metric tonns more the final production of 2016-17. This is the second consecutive year that the crop production in India has been at record highs and this has raised hopes that if this trend continues, India could become self sufficient in crops.
“Pulses production in all likelihood might not go down below 23 MT in the worst of conditions, but oilseeds output remains a challenge,” another senior official of the agriculture ministry said.
According to a report in The Times of India, this was the fourth and final estimate released by the government.
The report also said that the ongoing sowing operations for the summer crops indicates that the year would be a good year for farm crop production even though it might not reach record production highs as was reached last year for this crop season.
The production increase has bene achieved despite the total sown area this year being almost the same as last year's, the report claimed. The total sown area under summer crop stood at around 100 million hectares as of Aug. 24, as compared to 100.8 million hectares at this time last year, which is only 1.3 percent less.
The report also quoted a Indian government official saying that the storage levels of water in most of the reservoirs and water bodies throughout the country was "quite good" and that would be an aiding factor for farmers this farming season. Additionally, moisture in the soil would be retained for winter crops because of good rains in many parts of India.
(Source:www.business-standard.com)
