According to the recently released, First Advance Estimate of Food Grain Production, rice production in the 2024-25 Kharif season is estimated to reach a record 120 million tonnes (MT), the highest in the past 11 years.
- Paddy production, the key Kharif crop, increased by 5.8% compared to last year, driven by above-average rainfall during the southwest monsoon season.
- Meanwhile, Kharif pulse production stood at around 7 MT, the lowest in nine years, according to data from the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
- Overall, Kharif foodgrain production is projected to reach a record 164.7 MT, an increase of 8.9 MT from the previous year and 12.4 MT above the average Kharif production.
- The record production was majorly due to increase in production of rice, jowar (sorghum), and maize.
Survey System:
- For the first time, the ministry used data from the Digital Crop Survey (DCS), conducted under the Digital Agriculture Mission with state governments, to provide accurate crop area estimates.
- The DCS aims to replace the manual Girdawari system.
- Crop area estimation using the DCS was carried out in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Odisha, with all districts (100%) covered for Kharif 2024 and a substantial rise in the area under rice, particularly in Uttar Pradesh.
Case of Pulse Production
- Crops such as pulses and millets exhibited a declining trend compared to previous years.
- Total pulses production for Kharif 2024-25 was projected at 6.9 MT, slightly lower than last year’s output.
- The decline in Kharif pulses production for 2024-25 was primarily driven by a sharp drop in urad (black gram) output, which fell from 1.6 MT in 2023-24 to 1.2 MT, a 25% decrease.
- The decline in pulses production was mainly due to reduced acreage and heavy rainfall in key growing regions. Among Kharif pulses, only the production of tur (pigeon pea) exceeded average levels.
Other Crops Scenario
- Production of oilseeds among non-foodgrains was estimated to be 6.5% higher than last year. In contrast, crops like sugarcane, cotton, and jute saw declines.
| Digital Crop Survey The Government of India launched the Digital Crop Survey (DCS) in the 2023-24 period. A mobile application and portal have been developed to facilitate the survey, enabling surveyors to collect crop data and geo-tag photos of each survey number. To ensure smooth implementation and monitoring, district-level committees, chaired by the Collector, and Taluka-level committees, led by the Provincial Officer, have been established. As part of the pilot project in 2023-24, six districts in Gujarat—Aravalli, Mehsana, Narmada, Dang, Valsad, and Porbandar—were selected for the survey. |