Farm sector clocks robust growth in FY25 on record foodgrain harvest

Agriculture and allied activities grew 4.6% in FY25, driven by strong monsoon, record rice and wheat output, and improved rabi and kharif harvests

The farm sector maintained its forward path in FY25, clocking robust growth of 5.4 per cent in the January-March quarter, compared to 0.9 per cent in the year-ago period. This performance is expected to propel the full-year Gross Value Added (GVA) in agriculture and allied activities to 4.6 per cent, up from 2.7 per cent in FY24.

 

This growth is measured in real terms.

 

The full-year numbers, according to provisional estimates, would mean that agriculture has outpaced manufacturing at least in growth terms in FY25.

 

While the manufacturing sector rose 4.8 per cent in Q4, it clocked 4.5 per cent growth in the full year.

   

In nominal terms, the agriculture and allied sector registered 8.7 per cent growth in Q4, compared to 7.9 per cent in the year-ago quarter. For the full year, nominal GVA for the farm sector stood at 10.4 per cent, up from 9.6 per cent in FY24.

 

 

The sector’s performance is likely to have benefited from a strong monsoon that supported good kharif and rabi harvest. Some base effects may also have contributed to the favourable growth numbers, experts said.

 

Farm sector growth in FY24 had slowed due to below-normal monsoon and prolonged heatwaves in many parts of India.

 

On the monsoon front, the 2024 season ended last September with almost 8 per cent surplus rains, the best since 2020.

 

Cumulatively, all-India rainfall during the June-September 2024 period was estimated at 935 millimetres, 8 per cent above the normal of 870 millimetres. 

 

As a result, India’s foodgrain production, according to the third advance estimates released recently, touched a new high of 353.95 million tonnes (mt) for the 2024–25 crop season, which ends in June. This was largely driven by record harvests of rice, wheat, and maize.

 

With 2025 expected to be another good monsoon year, experts said the farm sector might retain its high-growth trajectory in FY26 as well.

 

In the 2024-25 crop year, foodgrain production rose by nearly 22 mt in absolute terms as compared to the previous season.

 

Rice production in 2024-25 reached a record 149.07 mt, up 8.2 per cent from the last season, while wheat production was estimated at an all-time high of 117.50 mt.

 

The Centre, in its earlier estimates, had pegged the wheat production at 115 mt.

 

With 149 mt, India has now surpassed China to become the world’s largest rice producer. Maize production in 2024-25 has jumped by 12.3 per cent as per the third advance estimate to over 42 mt, while oilseeds production has risen by 7.4 per cent to 42.60 mt in 2024-25.

 

Sugarcane production was lower at 0.7 per cent in 2024-25 while cotton production dropped by almost 5.6 per cent, according to the third estimates.