Rabi foodgrains target at 161 mt
Delhi: The government on Tuesday set rabi foodgrains production target at 161.2 million tonnes (mt). The national target for total food grains production for the 2023-24 (July-June) crop year is 332 mt. As per the government’s third crop estimate, India’s foodgrain production in 2022-23 is pegged at 330.5 mt.
The agriculture ministry has kept a target of achieving a record wheat output of 114 mt in the 2023-24 rabi season against the output of 112.74 mt (as per the government’s third advance estimate) in 2022-23. Sowing of wheat, the main rabi or winter crop, begins in October along with other crops. Harvesting of the stable commodity starts in March-April.
While the Centre targets to bring 60% of the total wheat area (30 million hectares) under the climate-resistant varieties amid constant changes in weather conditions. "There are certain changes in climate change, which is affecting agriculture. Our focus is on climate resilient seeds," union agriculture secretary Manoj Ahuja said on Tuesday while addressing a national conference on Rabi crops to chalk out sowing strategies.
India last year had witnessed extreme heat waves that took a toll on crop quality and output, especially on the wheat crop and uneven distribution of monsoon rain this year hampering kharif crop plantation. He also stressed up on the need for making India self-sufficient in producing pulses and oilseeds amid their shrinking production over the past couple of years. "The priority of the government is agro-ecological based crop planning for diversion of land from excess commodities like rice and wheat to deficit commodities such as oilseeds and pulses and high value export earning crops," For the forthcoming rabi season, pulses production target has
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