Chhattisgarh sets a target to produce 12.11 MT foodgrain in kharif season

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The Chhattisgarh government has set a target to produce a little over 12 million tonnes (MT) of foodgrain in the kharif marketing season of 2024-25. The target is 7.64 per cent higher than the 11.25 MT grain produced in the previous kharif season.

“This year, the state government has set a target to produce 12.11 MT of foodgrain,” a senior official in the agriculture department said.

The acreage for the season has marginally increased by 0.72 per cent to 4.86 million hectares. However, the acreage of paddy has decreased nominally by 0.72 per cent. The state aims to take paddy crops to 3.86 million hectares.

Despite decrease in acreage, the state that was once known as the rice bowl of the country will register a 4.9 per cent growth in paddy production if the target set for the season is achieved. Counted among top-10 rice-producing states in the country, Chhattisgarh has set paddy output for the current season at 27 MT.

“Though acreage has been curtailed, the production of paddy will increase as farmers are using new technologies, besides the state government providing best quality of seeds and fertilizers,” the official said. In fact, the state is discouraging paddy as it is focusing on promoting cultivation of millets, pulses and oilseeds, he added.

However, farmers are still keen to produce paddy given the higher rate they are getting in Chhattisgarh, which is among a few states in the country that procure the yield at minimum support price (MSP). The BJP government led by Vishnu Deo Sai is giving Rs 3,100 for a quintal of paddy procured from the farmers. The state government has been paying the differential amount between the MSP and Rs 3,100 as input incentives.

The higher price has also increased paddy flow into state-run procurement centres. As against the target of 13 MT, Chhattisgarh procured 14.7 MT of paddy in the kharif marketing season of 2023-24 from 2.4 million farmers.

While the production target of pulse seeds has been increased by 17 per cent to 203,810 tonnes, the state aims to record oilseeds output of 168,410 tonnes. Oilseeds production, as per the target for the season, has been increased by 22.58 per cent.

The official said sowing work is going on in full swing across the state. “As of now, 27 per cent of the sowing target has been achieved in Chhattisgarh,” he said, adding that the work will further accelerate once the monsoon advances in the state.