Himachal sets target of producing about 970,000 metric tons of kharif crops

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The Himachal Pradesh agriculture department has fixed a target of producing about 970,000 metric tonnes of Kharif crops this season.

The agriculture department has set a target of sowing maize, paddy, ragi, pulses and other food grains on 368 lakh hectares of cultivable land in the Kharif season, an official spokesperson said on Sunday.

The maximum target of sowing maize has been set on 272 lakh hectares of land.

Similarly, paddy is to be sown on 73 thousand hectares, pulses on 18 thousand hectares and food grains like ragi on 12,700 hectares in the Kharif season, the spokesperson said.

Apart from this, a target has been set to cultivate vegetables in 87 thousand hectares and ginger in 3 thousand hectares, but due to lack of timely rain till June 19, sowing was slow in the state.

Most of the farming in Himachal is rain dependent but every year in the Kharif season, a target for the production of food grains and vegetables is set by the agriculture department.

This time the department has set a target of producing 970,000 metric tonnes of food grains in the Kharif season.

In this, the highest production target of maize crop has been kept at 730 metric tonnes. The production target for paddy crop was set at 155 lakh metric tonnes.

Similarly, a target of 1 lakh 75 thousand metric tonnes of pulses and 13 thousand metric tonnes of ragi production has been set.

Apart from this, the production target of 18 lakh 17 thousand metric tonnes of vegetables and 34 thousand metric tonnes of ginger has been set in the state.

The spokesman was hopeful that if there were timely and adequate rains, the farmers would be able to achieve the target fixed for the production of their crops.