The Centre is estimating record production of rice, wheat, maize, soybean, rapeseed and mustard, and sugarcane, according to the “third advance estimates of production of major crops” released by the Union Agriculture Ministry here on May 25.
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar, releasing the estimates, said the country will achieve foodgrain production of 3305.34 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) in the current agricultural year. He credited farmers, the ability of researchers and the farmer-friendly policies of the Centre for Growth. The assessment of production of different crops is done based on the feedback from States.
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Among foodgrains, the Centre expects cultivation of 1355.42 LMT of rice, 1127.43 LMT of wheat, 111.66 LMT of bajra, 547.48 LMT of coarse cereals and 359.13 LMT of Maize. In 2021-22, the production of rice was 1294.71 LMT and the production of wheat was 1077.42 LMT. The total foodgrain production is likely to be higher by 149.18 LMT as compared to 2021-22. The increase in rice could be 60.71 LMT and in wheat, it will be 50.01 LMT.
The Centre expects the production of 275.04 LMT of pulses. The production of Moong is estimated at 37.40 LMT which is higher by 5.74 LMT when compared to the previous year’s production. “The production of soybean and rapeseed and mustard is estimated at 149.76 LMT and 124.94 LMT respectively, which is higher by 19.89 LMT and 5.31 LMT respectively than the production in 2021-22. Total oil seeds production in the country during 2022-23 is estimated at a record 409.96 LMT which is higher by 30.33 LMT than the previous year’s oilseeds production,” the Union Agriculture Ministry said in a release.
Total production of Sugarcane in the country is also likely to hit record levels of 4942.28 LMT. “The production of sugarcane during 2022-23 is higher by 548.03 LMT than the previous year’s production,” the Centre said. The Production of Cotton is estimated at 343.47 lakhbales (of 170 kg each) and production of Jute & Mesta is estimated at 94.94 lakhbales (of 180 kg each).
