India’s total foodgrain production for the 2024–25 agricultural year is estimated to reach an impressive 354 million tonnes, reflecting a 6.6% rise over the 332 million tonnes recorded in 2023–24, according to the third advance estimates released by the government.
This upward trajectory includes output from all major crops such as rice, wheat, maize, pulses, soyabean, and groundnuts.
Bifurcating the statistics, rice production has been estimated at 1490.74 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), which is up by 112 LMT from last year. Wheat production has also registered a steep increase, with an estimated figure of 1175.07 LMT — up 42.15 LMT from last year. Coarse cereals such as jowar, bajra, and ragi totaled 621.40 LMT as a group, up a 52.04 LMT from last year.
Pulse output, which is another key segment, is estimated to be 252.38 LMT, a growth of 9.92 LMT from the previous year. Of this category, moong output increased from 35.61 LMT to 38.19 LMT. The oilseeds industry has also seen robust growth, with overall production standing at 426.09 LMT, up 29.40 LMT from the last cycle.
Observing on the general trend, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "The overall production of foodgrains is showing an increasing trend," while also observing that "the improvement in pulses and oilseeds output should be expedited further."
The yield estimates of soyabean and groundnut have also risen to 151.80 LMT and 118.96 LMT, a respective rise of 21.18 LMT and 17.16 LMT compared to previous year. Rapeseed and mustard collectively have added 126.06 LMT to the total oilseed production.
This year's third advance estimates show record-high produce in major crops like rice, wheat, maize, soybean, rapeseed, mustard, and sugarcane. "The third estimated production of crops like paddy, wheat, soybean, groundnuts, oilseeds, and pulses is going to be a record," Chouhan informed.
He attributed this success to the pro-farmer policies of the government, like timely fertiliser subsidy and the increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSPs).
Additional bolstering the rural economy, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given a boost to the farm sector by sanctioning an increase in MSPs for 14 kharif crops for the marketing season of 2025-26. The decision is with a view to providing farmers reasonable and profitable prices.
Amongst the crops getting the maximum MSP hikes are nigerseed by ₹820 per quintal, followed by ragi (₹596), cotton (₹589), and sesamum (₹579).
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