Several waves of Covid-19 pandemic notwithstanding, farmers toiled hard to help the country reap a record harvest of 305.43 million tonnes (mt) of foodgrain — nearly 2.67 per cent more than 297.5 mt produced in the previous crop year, according to the third advance estimates released by the government on Tuesday.

Almost all crops bettered their previous production records, thanks to bountiful monsoon rains received during the previous season. Rice output is estimated to cross the 120-million tonne mark for the first time to touch 121.46 mt against the previous best of 118.87 mt in 2019-20. Wheat output is projected to be almost a million tonne more as compared to the previous year at 108.75 mt.

The production of pulses and oilseeds is estimated to go up by 10 per cent compared to the previous crop year. While pulses output is projected to be a record 25.56 mt (23.03 mt), that of oilseeds is expected to be 36.57 mt — up from previous year’s 33.22 mt. 

Cash crops

Cotton production, on the other hand, is expected to be marginally higher at 36.49 million bales (of 170 kg each).

With Maharashtra and Karnataka recovering from drought, sugarcane production is estimated to move up by more than 5 per cent to 392.8 million tonnes. Better than expected maize output is slated to push up the coarse cereals haul by 2 mt to 49.66 mt than 2019-20.