All Time Record: India Set For Best-Ever Foodgrain Production

NEW DELHI: India’s foodgrain production for the 2016-17 crop year is estimated at record 275.68 million tonnes. The government on Wednesday revised its previous figures upward by 2.3 million tonnes and came at the new figure which is over 4% higher than the previous record production achieved in the country during 2013-14.

The production in 2016-17 is significantly higher by 24.12 million tonnes (9.59%) than the output of 2015-16 which was a drought year.

The revised figures, released on Wednesday, are part of the agriculture ministry’s fourth advance estimate for the year 2016-17. In its third estimate, the ministry had put the estimated production at 273.38 million tonnes (MT).

The ministry releases four advance estimates followed by final estimates of production of major agricultural crops of the country every crop year (July-June). Fourth advance estimates are considered as good as final estimates.

In order to provide sufficient time to states to take into account even the delayed information while finalizing area and yield estimates of various crops, the final estimates are released about six months after the fourth advance estimates. No revision in the state-level data is accepted after release of final estimates by the agriculture ministry.

India had recorded its previous best in the year 2013-14 when the country produced 265.04 MT of foodgrain, backed by good and well-distributed Monsoon rainfall.

The ministry attributed the all-time record of foodgrain production in 2016-17 to good rainfall in 2016 and various policy initiatives taken by it. Record output has been achieved in all major crops of foodgrain basket like rice (110.15 MT), wheat (98.38 MT) and pulses (22.95 MT).