Govt sets 307.33 mt foodgrain production target for 2021-22 crop year

    New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI) The Centre has set a target of 307.33 million tonne of foodgrains production for the current 2021-22 crop year ending June.
     This target is slightly lower than the estimated output for the 2020-21 crop year at record 308.65 million tonne. This is a rise of 3.74 per cent from the previous year's production.
     The target for the current crop year was fixed during the National Conference on Agriculture for rabi campaign 2021-22 held through video conferencing.
     Inaugurating the event, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the Centre will fully support states to increase production and productivity.
     It is also fully committed to helping states in tackling the challenges posed by climate change and rainfed agriculture, he said.
     Tomar urged states to use water, electricity and fertilizers judiciously and to use nano-urea which is less costly and beneficial for land fertility.
     The minister said KVKs (Krishi Vigyan Kendras) should reach out to small farmers so that they can benefit from various schemes of the government.
     States should also ensure that PM Kisan and KCC (kisan credit card) reach every farmer.
     More than 2.25 crore KCCs have been distributed, through which farmers have been given loans of more than Rs 2.25 lakh crore.
     He also informed that PM Fasal Bima Yojana has provided protective cover for farmers.
     The objective of this conference was to review and assess the crop performance during the preceding crop season and also fix crop-wise targets for rabi season in consultation with state governments.
     The conference also aimed at ensuring supply of critical inputs and facilitate adoption of innovative technologies with a view to enhancing production and productivity of crops.
     The priority of government is to increase production of oilseeds and pulses.
     Agriculture Commissioner S K Malhotra said the country has recorded an all-time high foodgrain and oilseeds production due to timely interventions of the government.
     He also explained the crop production targets for 2021-22.
     The Centre has set a target of foodgrains production at 307.33 million tonne.
     The targets for rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses have been set at 121.10 million tonne, 110 million tonne, 51.21 million tonne and 25 million tonne. For oilseeds, the target is 38.4 million tonne in the current crop year.
     As per the fourth advance estimates for the previous 2020-21 crop year, rice production stood at record 122.27 million tonne.
     Wheat production stood at record 109.52 million tonne in 2020-21, while the output of coarse cereals was 51.15 million tonne.
     Pulses output stood at record 25.72 million tonne. PTI MJH ANU
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)