Odisha targets 12 million tonne food grains output in FY18

Production target for this fiscal to cover 6.72 mn hectares, with a yield of 1,799 kg per hectare

Anticipating good rainfall, the Odisha government has set a target 12.09 million tonne (mt) of food grain production in the ensuing Kharif and Rabi season for 2017-18.

For 2016-17, the state government had set a food grains production target of 11.12 mt. The target, as per the second advance estimate, included 1.6 mt and 9.463 mt production during the Rabi and Kharif seasons respectively

As per a government plan, the production target for this fiscal will be covering 6.72 million hectares of land with a yield of 1,799 kilogram (kg) per hectare.

In the cereals bracket, rice production is expected at 9.56 mt with the productivity of 2,544 kg per hectare and spreading over of 3.76 million hectares of land. Others in the cereals include 0.983 mt of maize and 0.149 mt of ragi with a yield of 2,892 kg and 903 kg per hectare respectively.

Similarly, the output of pulses during the crop season 2017-18 is estimated to be 1.35 mt including 0.23 mt of arhar and 0.46 mt of mung. The state government has set a target of 0.9 mt of oilseeds, 12 mt of vegetables and 0.6 mt of spices during 2017-18.

The total production target includes 10.31 mt of food grains with an yield of 2,030 kg per hectare covering an area of 5.08 mt in the ensuing kharif. In the kharif season, the sowing of which starts with the onset of monsoon, production includes 9.653 mt of cereals and 0.6 mtof pulses.

In the Rabi 2017-18, the production target is tentatively arrived at 1.77 mt of food grains including 1.08 mt of cereals and 0.7 mt of pulses.

"The programme prepared is tentative and is likely to be tweaked as the government is now focusing more on non paddy crops as the paddy production in the state has gone up", said a government official.

The state in a separate budget for the agriculture sector with an outlay of Rs 14,930 crore, has estimated that the total foodgrains production in Odisha is likely to reach a level of 11.5 mt in 2017-18. The emphasis of the budget is on irrigation, targeting creation of additional irrigation facilities for 295,000 hectares. A sum of Rs 435 crore has been proposed towards interest subvention to cooperative and commercial banks in 2017-18.