Agriculture was one of the bright spots in the economy for the third straight quarter. In real terms, it grew 3.9 percent from a year ago during October- December, as per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on February 26. The overall economy grew 0.4 percent in the third fiscal quarter.
In July- September 2020-2021, the agriculture sector had grown 3 percent amid a dismal performance from the overall economy which had shrunk 7.3 percent.
According to the NSO data, the gross value added (GVA) from agriculture, forestry and fishing grew 3.9 percent year-on-year at constant prices (real terms) in October-December 2020. This was against a one percent increase in the overall real GVA for the third quarter.
Agriculture GVA at current prices (nominal terms) grew 7.4 percent year-on-year during the October-December quarter against an expansion of 4.3 percent for the overall nominal GVA.
As per the agriculture ministry’s second advance estimates for 2020-21 crop year released on Wednesday, India’s food grain production is estimated to rise 2 percent to an all-time high of 303.34 million tonnes. The crop year runs from July to June.
The Agriculture Ministry attributed the increased food grain production to good monsoons last year.
Wheat production is estimated to rise to a record 109.24 MT in 2020-21 from 107.86 MT in the previous year, while Pulses output is expected at 24.42 MT, up from 23.03 MT in 2019-20 crop year.
Further, in the non-food grain category, the production of oilseeds is estimated at 37.31 MT in 2020-21 as against 33.22 MT in the previous year. Sugarcane production is pegged at 397.66 MT from 370.50 MT in the previous year, while cotton output is expected to be higher at 36.54 million bales from 36.07 million bales in the previous year.
