After two drought years, foodgrain production for the current year (2016-17) is set for a new high, surpassing the previous record of 2013-14, aided by a near-normal monsoon across most parts of the country.
Government officials say that appropriate policy interventions and programmes by the Government also played a role in boosting output.
According to the recently released second advance estimates by the Agriculture Ministry, output across all categories is seen rising despite a dip in acreage in some cases.
In the case of rice, production is set to rise a new high of 108.86 mt on higher yields. This represents an increase of 2 per cent over 106.65 mt harvested in 2013-14, and is marginally higher than the targeted 108.5 mt for the current year.
In the case of wheat, production for the current year is expected to be ahead of the target of 96.5 mt and is likely to touch a new high of 96.64 mt despite a marginal drop in acreage over 2013-14. So is the case with coarse cereals and oilseeds, where higher yields are seen boosting output despite a drop in acreage.
However, in the case of pulses, the rise in output was largely driven by a surge in the area under legume crops this year. Production of pulses including tur and gram is seen touching a new record this year.
Officials said special focus was given for pulses in which a five-year roadmap, starting from 2016-17, was drawn up targeting a production of 24 mt by the end of 2020-21. Though the target for the current year was 21.25 mt, output is set to reach 22.14 mt
Further, initiatives to promote cultivation of tur on farm bunds, creation of seed hubs to ensure adequate supply, and distribution of mini seed kits to popularise new varieties have also helped increase output this year.
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