Riding high on bumper rice and wheat output due to good monsoon rains and using good quality seeds, India’s food-grain production for 2020-21 crop year is estimated at 303.34 million tonnes — an all-time record. It is estimated to be 5.84 million tonnes higher than the output in 2019-20 which stood at 296.50 million tons. This will be the fifth consecutive year of record production, propelled by record production of rice, wheat, pulses and cereals.
As per the second advance estimate released by the Ministry of agriculture, production of both paddy and wheat is estimated to touch a new high of 120.32 million tonnes ( 118.87 million tons during the fourth advance estimate 2019-20) and 109.24 million tonnes (107.86 million tons), respectively, in 2020-21 a record high.
The projection of record production is significant amid the Covid-19 pandemic and farmers’ agitation. Punjab, which has been the nerve centre of farmers’ protest, has seen record procurement of rice at 13.58 million tonnes, which is 24 per cent more than last year.
Pulses production, too, is slated to get a slight boost to 24.42 million tons nearly 1.4 million tons more than the previous year, mainly because of a record gram production which is expected to be around 11.62 million tons.
Total oilseed production during 2020-21 is estimated at 37.31 million tons which is 4.09 million tons more than the production of 33.22 million tons during 2019-20. The higher oilseed output is on account of higher yields expected in all three major oilseed crops — groundnut, mustard and soyabean. The production of maize is also expected to be a record one at 30.16 million tons. Aided by a record maize production, total output of coarse cereals in 2020-21 is expected to go up to 49.36 million tons, which is nearly 1.6 million tons more than that in 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 million tons which is substantially higher than the previous year’s 370.5 million tons.
“After achieving self-sufficiency in pulses, our focus is on raising oilseeds output to reduce dependence on edible oil imports. This year, we are likely to cross 34 million tonnes as against last year’s fourth advance estimate of 33.4 million tonnes. The production of oilseeds will go up in subsequent years,” the official said.
“There has been no impact of pandemic and farmers’ agitation in farm activities so far in the country. Farmers in Punjab actively participated in the procurement exercise and planted wheat across areas at last year’s level,” the official said.
The year-on-year record production has resulted in a surge in farm exports, which rose 25% to Rs 1.02 lakh crore in the first three quarters of fiscal 2020-21.
The Union Government bought a record 658.61 lakh tons of kharif (monsoon crops) paddy in its ongoing procurement operations, 16.56 percent more than it did last year, Nearly 95.23 lakh farmers have been paid minimum support prices worth Rs 1.24 lakh crore for these purchases, the data show.