Bumper harvest likely amid record foodgrain output

The Union agriculture ministry while releasing the advance estimates for 2021-22, said total output of several items would touch record levels, including rice, wheat, maize and pulses.

India is likely to see a bumper harvest during 2021-22 amid record grain output, along with higher production of several commodities critical for low food inflation, the government’s second of the four quarterly advance estimates projected on Wednesday.

India is likely to see a bumper harvest during 2021-22 amid record grain output.

The Union agriculture ministry while releasing the advance estimates for 2021-22, said total output of several items would touch record levels, including rice, wheat, maize and pulses.

Foodgrain production was estimated to be a record 316.06 million tonnes, higher by 5.32 million tonnes, than during 2020-21. The total grain output during 2021-22 has also increased by a staggering 25.35 million tonnes compared to the average production of the previous five years (2016-17 to 2020-21).

The acreage under the ongoing rabi or winter-sown crops has expanded for the third straight-year, driven by record oilseeds, whose domestic output the government has sought to increase to cut expensive imports, stated the official data, showing little impact of the third Covid wave on the farm sector.

Agriculture contributes nearly 17% to the country gross domestic product (GDP) but employs nearly half of all Indians, making it a critical source of livelihood. According to the government’s advance estimates, the sector is expected to grow 3.9% during the current financial year.

Going by the latest official projections, rice output is seen at 127.93 million tonnes, while wheat production has been forecast to be 111.32 million tonnes. Maize production would touch an all-time high of 32.42 million tonnes, the official estimates said, similar to record gram output estimates at 13.12 million tonne.

The latest monthly review of the finance ministry on Wednesday said that agriculture and the rural sectors continued to be resilient. The farm sector will be benefited by crop diversification, larger acreages and generous procurement at minimum support prices, aside from cash transfers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN) scheme, the review stated.

Total oilseeds production in the country during 2021-22 is estimated at record 37.15 million tonnes which is higher by 1.20 million tonnes than the output of 35.95 million tonnes during 2020-21.

In December 2021, the Union government had rescinded three farm-reform laws, aimed at spurring private investment in the sector after year-long protests by farmers.