Orissa govt targets 10 mn tonnes of food grains this year

The food grain production in Orissa in 2007-08, not yet calculated, is likely to have crossed 9.2 million tonnes, the highest-ever yield, as against 7.345 million tonnes in 2006-07.

In the current year, the agriculture department has set a target of 10.52 million tonnes of food grains, taking into account both kharif and rabi projections. While the department expects the Kharif output to be 8.93 million tonnes, the target for the Rabi season is 1.6 million tonnes.

The kharif 2008 projections include 8.56 million tonnes of cereal production, 7.91 million tonnes of which is paddy. The pulses target is 369,000 tonnes. The total production of food grains in kharif season last year was 7.82 million tonnes, which included 7.45 million tonnes cereals and 364,000 tonnes pulses. Cereals include paddy, wheat jowar, bajra, maize, ragi and small millets, while pulses include arhar, mung, biri, gram, cowpea, lentil.

The total food grain production in the state in rabi 2007-08 is yet to be calculated. However, the state agriculture and food grain production director, Aurabindo Padhi, said the rabi produce was expected to exceed 1.5 million tonnes and total food grain production in the year over 9.2 million tonnes.

This year, the government is aiming a 4-per-cent growth in agriculture as against the current growth rate of 2.6 per cent. "We are hoping to exceed the 3-per-cent growth rate by the end of the current year", he said.

He said the department has already prepared a strategy to achieve the target of food grain production with increase of the seed replacement, fertilizer consumption and upgrading the skills of the farmers.

Seed replacement, which was 146,000 quintals in the previous year is aimed to increase to 300,000 quintals this year. Similarly, the fertilizer consumption which was 53.2 kg per hectare in the state last year is aimed to increase to 60 kg per hectare this year, he stated.