Agriculture Ministry Releases First Advance Estimates for Kharif Crop Production in 2023-24

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has recently unveiled the first Advance Estimates for the production of major Kharif crops in India for the 2023-24 season. These estimates are based on data provided by states and corroborated using information from various reliable sources, including the Crop Weather Watch Group (CWWG), remote sensing assessments, econometric models, farmer surveys, and historical crop estimation trends.

According to the First Advance Estimates, the anticipated production of major Kharif crops for 2023-24 is as follows:

Foodgrains: 1485.69 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT)

• Rice- 1063.13 Lakh Metric Tonnes

• Maize- 224.82 Lakh Metric Tonnes

• Tur- 34.21 Lakh Metric Tonnes

• Moong- 14.05 Lakh Metric Tonnes

• Urad- 15.05 Lakh Metric Tonnes

Oilseeds: 215.33 Lakh Metric Tonnes

• Groundnut- 78.29 Lakh Metric Tonnes

• Soybean- 115.28 Lakh Metric Tonnes

Sugarcane: 4347.93 Lakh Metric Tonnes

Cotton: 316.57 Lakh bales (of 170 kg each)

Jute & Mesta: 91.91 Lakh bales (of 180 kg each)

The area under rice, a major Kharif crop, is estimated to be approximately 2 lakh hectares larger than the previous year's final estimate and about 4.5 lakh hectares more than the average rice area. Rice production is also projected to be higher by approximately 1 lakh tonnes compared to the average Kharif rice production.

The areas under other cereal crops, such as Kharif Maize and Jowar, are also estimated to be higher than the previous year and the average area under these crops. Kharif Maize production is estimated at 224.82 Lakh Metric Tonnes, compared to an average production of 213.51 Lakh Metric Tonnes, representing an increase of about 11 Lakh Metric Tonnes.

For the 2023-24 season, the production of Kharif Nutri/coarse cereals is estimated at 351.37 LMT, slightly exceeding the average coarse cereals production of 350.91 LMT. The production of Shree Anna is projected to be 126.55 LMT during 2023-24. The production of Tur is estimated at 34.21 LMT, which is in line with last year's production.

Furthermore, the area under Urad is estimated at 30.73 lakh hectares, which is similar to the previous year's area of 30.98 lakh hectares. However, total Kharif pulses production for 2023-24 is expected to be lower than the previous year due to climatic conditions, with total Kharif pulses production estimated at 71.18 LMT. The total production of sugarcane is estimated at 4347.93 LMT, surpassing the average sugarcane production of 4222.55 LMT.

It is important to note that this initial production assessment for the 2023-24 Kharif season is primarily based on the average yields of the last three years and may be subject to change once yield estimates based on actual crop cutting experiments become available.