First advance estimate of production of major Kharif crops

28.10.2023

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Why in the news?

Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has released the first advance estimate of production of major Kharif crops for 2023-24.

Important points:

• This first production estimate for 2023-24 (Kharif) is largely based on the average yield of the last 3 years and is subject to change once yield estimates are obtained based on actual harvesting experiments.
• Crop production estimates depend on data provided by states and are subsequently validated using information from various alternative sources.
• These sources include Crop Weather Watch Group (CWWG) reports, remote sensing estimates, estimates based on econometric modeling, inputs collected from farmer surveys, and historical trends in crop estimates.

Estimated production of major Kharif crops for 2023-24:

Total estimated production of major kharif crops for 2023-24 is estimated at 148.56 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), lower than last year's 155.7 million tonnes.

Rice :

• For 2023-24, the production of rice is estimated at 1063.13 lakh metric tonnes.
• Which is 3.7 percent less. The figure of 1,105.12 LMT was recorded during the same season last year.
• The area under rice is estimated to be about 2 lakh hectares more than last year's final estimate and about 4.5 lakh hectares more than the average rice area.
• Its production is also estimated to be about 1 lakh tonnes more than the average Kharif rice production.

Kharif Nutrients/Coarse Grains:

• For 2023-24, production of maize-224.82 lakh metric tonnes is estimated.
• For 2023-24, Kharif Nutri/Coarse Cereals production is estimated at 351.37 LMT which is slightly higher than the average coarse cereals production of 350.91 LMT.
• The production of Shri Anna is estimated to be 126.55 lakh metric tonnes during 2023-24.
• The area under Kharif maize and sorghum is also estimated to be higher than last year and the average area under these crops is also estimated to be higher than last year.
• Kharif maize production is estimated at 224.82 lakh metric tonnes, registering an increase of about 11 lakh metric tonnes compared to the average production of 213.51 lakh metric tonnes.

Estimated production of pulses:

• Pigeon pea – estimated at 34.21 lakh metric tonnes, Moong – estimated at 14.05 lakh metric tonnes, Urad – estimated at 15.05 lakh metric tonnes.
• The total Kharif pulses production for 2023-24 is estimated to be lower than the previous year due to climatic conditions.
• Total Kharif pulses production during 2023-24 is estimated to be 71.18 LMT.
• Tur production is estimated at 34.21 LMT, slightly higher than last year's production of 33.1 lakh tonnes.
• The area under urad is estimated to be 30.73 lakh hectares, which is almost equal to last year's 30.98 lakh hectares.

Sugarcane :

• The total production of sugarcane is estimated at 4347.93 LMT which is more than the average sugarcane production of 4222.55 LMT.

Oilseeds:

• The production of oilseeds for 2023-24 is estimated at 215.33 lakh metric tonnes, of which..
  • Groundnut-78.29 lakh metric tons
  • Soybean-115.28 lakh metric tons

Cotton and Jute:

• Cotton – 316.57 lakh bales (of 170 kg each)
• Jute and Mesta-91.91 lakh bales (of 180 kg each)

Major crops of Kharif season:

• In the Indian subcontinent, crops sown in June-July are called Kharif crops. These crops are harvested in the months of October and November.
• Major cash crops of Kharif season include paddy (rice), maize, jowar, bajra, mung, groundnut, sugarcane, soybean, sweet potato, ladyfinger, urad, tur, horse gram, turmeric, jute, flax, sesame, guar, cotton. Which are ripe and ready by autumn.
• According to a report, Rabi, Kharif and Zaid are three Arabic words.
• Kharif crops are also called 'monsoon crops' because they are sown or planted during the monsoon season.
• Furthermore, Kharif crops thrive in rain-fed areas with hot and humid climates, and their growth and yield are highly dependent on rainfall patterns.

Source: Times of India