Although area under rice and oilseeds declined marginally in 2011-12, the production of the two commodities has gone up.
The area under cultivation of pulses, however, increased.
While in 2011-12, there has been marginal decline in area under rice and oilseeds as compared to 2008-09, the area under cultivation of pulses increased significantly, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
Area under rice decreased by 1.47 million hectare in 2011-12, from 45.54 million hectare in 2008-09. Acreage of total oilseeds also declined by 1.08 million hectare during the period, he said.
Areas under pulses registered an increase of 4.13 million hectare in the period, Pawar said.
He, however, added that despite the shrinking of cultivation area, production of these commodities has shown a rise.
Production of rice went up by 4.23 million tonnes in three years to 2011-12, pulses production rose by 2.45 million tonnes and total oilseeds by 2.34 million tonnes during the period.
To increase the output of major crops, including rice, pulses and oilseeds in the country, the government has been implementing several crop development schemes such as National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY), National Food Security Mission among others, Pawar said.
The states have been advised to implement contingency plans suitable for different monsoon scenarios in various agro-climatic regions to minimise the impact of drought on area acreage and production during bad monsoon, he added.
