Per capita foodgrain availability lowest in India since 1980, says plan panel

10 May 2007

Mumbai: The availability of foodgrains in the country, including cereals and pulses, has fallen to the lowest level in the past two decades, reflecting the slow pace of growth of the country''s agriculture sector, the planning commission said in a paper presented to prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Per capita availability of foodgrains in the country fell from 190 kg per year during 1976-80 to a low of 186 kg during 2004-07, the plan panel said in its presentation.

The per capita availability of cereals declined from 179 kg per year during 1981-85 to 174 kg during 2004-07. The availability of pulses too declined from 19 kg per person to 12 kg per persons during the same period, the paper said.

Rate of growth of agricultural production in major food producing states such as Punjab and Haryana decelerated from more than four per cent between 1984 and 1996 to around two per cent between 1995-2005.

During the same period, the country''s population has increased nearly 60 per cent to over 1.1 billion in 2007 compared to 1981 census figures of 684 million.

Foodgrain productivity at an all-India level dropped from 3.62 per cent to 1.85 per cent during the same period.