Tamil Nadu’s yield of rice, during 2023-24 for both the cultivation seasons of kharif and rabi, is lower than that of the national average.
The yield for the year has been worked out to be 2.31 tonnes per hectare against the all-India average of 2.74 tonnes per hectare. This was a departure at least from the two previous years when the State’s figure was higher than that of all-India. The data for the 2023-24 have been calculated based on the second advance estimates of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare at the Centre, as released on February 29.
In terms of yield, Tamil Nadu trailed behind two States known for rice production – Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Of late, the Central authorities have begun taking into consideration rice production achieved during the summer. However, the figures for 2023-24 are not inclusive of this factor.
A former official of the State Agriculture Department attributes the drop in the yield rate to heavy rainfall in parts of Tiruvarur district during the stage of flowering of the paddy crop during the Samba-Thaladi cultivation season coupled with unprecedented rainfall late last year in parts of southern districts, especially in Ramanathapuram, wherein paddy raised over nearly 10,000 hectares was damaged.
The official points out that the State works out yield or productivity with regard to paddy while the Central authorities does it for rice. As per the norms, 100 kg of paddy is expected to produce 67 kg of raw rice, or 68 kg in case of par-boiled rice. Consequently, the figure determined by the Centre will always be lower than that of the State. Up to the end of March 2024, the average paddy yield during kuruvai was 3.84 tonnes/ha and 3.23 tonnes/ha during samba, according to the State government data.
