According to the first advance estimate, released by the agricultural ministry in September 2019, the country’s food grain production during the rain-fed kharif season is estimated at 140.57 million tonnes (mt) in 2019-20, 0.8 per cent lower than the total output estimated in 2018–19 kharif. But it is 6.38 per cent more than the average foodgrain production from 2013–14 to 2017–18. The total food grain production in 2018–19 was 283.87 mt, owing largely to the increase in rice and wheat production. The figure is a little lower than 285 mt produced in 2017–18. The difference between the total food grain production figures in 2017–18 and 2018–19 is nearly 1.65 mt because of a lacklustre performance by coarse cereals and pulses, such as ragi, maize, bajra, and jowar.
Rice
The output of rice is estimated at 100.35 mt in 2019–20. Some 112.76 mt of rice was produced in 2017-18.
Wheat
Wheat output in 2019–20 is estimated to cross 100 mt for the first time and reach 101.2 mt due to a prolonged and favourable winter. The final estimates for the previous crop year placed wheat production at 99.87 mt in 2017–18.
Pulses and Oilseeds
The production of pulses is estimated at 8.23 mt in 2019–20, which was estimated at 23.22 mt in 2018–19 in the third estimate, released by the agricultural ministry in June 2019. The total kharif oilseed production is estimated at 22.39 mt during 2019–20, which is higher by 1.11 mt than 21.28 in 2018–19. During 2018–19, it was estimated at 31.42 mt.
The output of coarse cereals is estimated at 32 mt in 2019–20, which is higher by 1.01 mt achieved during 2018–19.
Cotton
Cotton output during 2019–20 is estimated at 32.27 mb (million bales, of 170 kg each) compared to 28.71 mb during 2018–19, which was 32.81 mb in 2017–18.
Sugar cane
Sugar cane is estimated at 377.77 mt in 2019–20, around 6 per cent down from 400 mt in 2018–19, which was 20 mt more than that in 2017–18.
Kharif Acreage
Normal area for kharif season is 1,063 lakh ha. Though the start was not good, the farmers made up kharif acreage by planting more cotton, maize, and soyabean, the country over. In 2019, the total kharif acreage is about 1,029 lakh ha, a little lower than the previous year. Moreover, the extra rainfall gave a fillip to the kharif planting though 7 sub-divisions received deficient rain. Acreage under rice is down by 10 lakh ha because of lower planting in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Bengal. On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Telangana registered an increase in paddy acreages.