Riding high on bumper rice and wheat output, India’s foodgrains production in 2020-21 is slated to touch a record 303.34 mt — up from the 297.5 mt produced in 2019-20, according to second advance estimates of crop production.
It is for the first time that foodgrains production has topped 300 million tonne-mark.
The latest production estimates were announced by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar at an event organised to mark the second anniversary of the PM-KISAN (Pradhan Manti Kisan Samman Nidhi) scheme here.
During the year, rice production is expected to be 120.32 mt (118.87 mt), while wheat output is estimated to be 109.24 mt (107.86 mt). Maize production is also expected to be a record at 30.16 mt.
Oilseeds, pulses
Total oilseed production during 2020-21 is estimated at 37.31 mt, which is 4.09 mt more than 33.22 mt produced during 2019-20. The higher oilseed output has been projected on account of increased yields in all three major oilseed crops – groundnut, mustard and soyabean.
Pulses production, too, is slated to get a slight boost to 24.42 mt, nearly 1.4 mt more than the previous year, mainly because of a record gram (chana) production which is expected to be around 11.62 mt.
Aided by a record maize production, total output of coarse cereals in 2020-21 is expected to go up to 49.36 mt, which is nearly 1.6 mt more compared with the previous year.
Cotton production is estimated at 36.54 million bales (of 170 kg each), which is nearly half a million bales more than last year.
Similarly, sugarcane output is expected to be around 397.66 mt, which is substantially higher than the previous year’s 370.5 mt.