Foodgrain Production in India Increases Threefold Since 1960; Thanks to MS Swaminathan

The Green Revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains. Thanks to MS Swaminathan, the father of Green Revolution, India's foodgrain yield per hectare has increased threefold since the 1960s.

According to a data chart released by the center on Tuesday, the output of food grains per hectare increased from 757 kg in the middle of the 1960s to 2.39 tonnes in 2021.

India is today not only self-sufficient in food grains but is also an exporter due to MS Swaminathan’s efforts. Better wheat and rice seeds were planted in farmers' fields as part of the Swaminathan-led "Green Revolution" program in the 1960s and 1980s.

The center made the argument that the "Green Revolution" increased agricultural productivity and made India self-sufficient in the production of food grains.

According to the fourth advance estimate of production of major crops released by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on August 17, foodgrain production in India is projected to reach a record 315.72 million tonnes during the 2021–22 season, an increase of 4.98 million tonnes over what was harvested during the previous growing season.

The output is predicted to increase by 25 million tonnes in 2021–22 from the average over the previous five years (2016–17 to 2020–21).

Record harvests are anticipated for several crops, including rice, maize, gram, pulses, rapeseed, mustard, oilseeds, and sugarcane.

Minister Narendra Singh Tomar believes this record production of so many crops is the result of the farmer-friendly policies of the central government coupled with the hard work of the farmers and the diligence of the scientists.

According to the most recent estimates, 130.29 million tonnes of rice, 106.84 million tonnes of wheat, 50.90 million tonnes of nutri/coarse cereals, 33.62 million tonnes of maize, 27.69 million tonnes of pulses, 4.34 million tonnes of tur, 13.75 million tonnes of gram, 37.70 million tonnes of oilseeds, 10.11 million tonnes of groundnut, 12.99 million tonnes of soybeans, 11.75 million tonnes of rapeseed (each of 180 kg).