India may produce record rice this year

India’s rice production in this agriculture year may breach the record output of 96.43 million tonnes last year on the back of increased acreage even as floods in some producing areas have hit the kharif crop, a top government official said today.

“Rice production will surely touch record this year on the back of the areas sown and the overall crop condition as of now, even though floods in some producing regions have hit the crop,” Secretary in the Department of Agricultural Research, Mangala Rai said.

Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar here, he, however, said sufficient rain in September and vigil against pest attacks are key to any further addition to the bumper output.

 

He did not mention the quantum of increase in output, saying it is difficult at this stage.

Rai also said floods in Bihar and Punjab, however, will create a congenial condition for rabi crops. Planting in the next season should be focused upon covering the losses caused during the kharif season, he added.

Areas under rice and soyabean have risen by over seven per cent in this period.

However, areas under ten major crops, including maize, sugarcane, arhar and cotton, have declined by up to 24 per cent during the ongoing kharif season as on August 22.

Rai said maize production deficit in Bihar, caused by the floods, can also be bridged if farmers use single-cross hybrid (high quality) seeds in a big way, thereby raising the productivity level by about 50 per cent.

Moreover, the sowing areas under rabi maize in the state are also large, he added.

“The overall crop condition seems to be good even though some parts of the country have witnessed drought and some other regions faced flood-like situation,” Rai said.

This apart, availability of edible oils would not be hampered though the crops have been affected in some areas. “You are not going to have something (yield) which will be abruptly low or high,” he said.

The country produces around 7.5 million tonnes of edible oil per annum but depends heavily on imports to bridge the gap between supply and consumption. The domestic demand of edible oils stands at about 12.5 million tonnes.

Speaking at the seminar on farm animals, Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry Pradeep Kumar stressed community participation along with government initiative and investment for significant progress in livestock management.

Former Minister of State for Agriculture Sompal emphasised factoring in economics in any attempt at raising the productivity level of the sector. Studying the cost of production is as important as raising the productivity level, he said.