Farm production in India set to achieve 4 per cent growth target: Pawar

With record production in kharif and rabi seasons this year, food production in the country will exceed projections and achieve the targeted 4 per cent growth in 2011-12, minister for agriculture and food processing Sharad Pawar said today.

He said foodgrain production in India has reached a record 241.6 million tonnes in 2010-11 and that the strategies for rejuvenating agriculture sector have been working well.

"We have also achieved the highest ever production of wheat, pulses, oilseeds and cotton. Overall farm output has also achieved an impressive growth rate of 7.5 per cent during the last quarter of 2010-11, thus helping agriculture GDP register a growth of 6.6 per cent during the year," the minister stated.

This also raises average growth rate of agriculture in the current Plan to 3.2 per cent, he pointed out.

As per the first advance estimates, rice production in the country in kharif 2011 is expected to be 87.10 million tones - an all-time high. Production of cotton and oilseeds has also reached record levels this year, he said. "We hope to see a substantial expansion in crop area and to achieving record production in coming rabi season too," he added.

However, he said, demand of food grain will also grow rapidly in next few decades, not only due to growing population but also due to rise in per capita income and various governmental interventions to ensure food and nutritional security to less advantaged people.