Govt fails to push up rabi rice acreage

NEW DELHI: Despite an exponential boost in investment in rabi crops to make up for an over-11% drop in kharif output on account of the worst-ever drought in 37 years, the government has failed to incentivise the farmers in boosting acreage under rabi rice upward from 47.69 lakh hectare in Rabi 2008.

Acreage under winter rice was only 44. 42 lakh hectare, primarily on account of lower acreage in both Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, as apprehended by the farm ministry earlier. The government expected the output of Boro rice in the north-eastern region, however, to go up compared to the previous year’s production.

Winter rice accounts for around 12 million tonne annually, boosting total yearly output to around 92 million tonne. Higher output in winter rice was expected to make up for a big drop in production last year. Only a very good monsoon can ring in hopes of huge output of the summer staple, paddy. The IMD came out with its first stage forecast on Friday, predicting normal monsoon rains this summer.

Area under pulses so far has gone up by almost a million hectare this winter compared to the same period last year, the multi-expert Crop Weather Watch Group was told. Wheat acreage has also gone up by almost a million hectare from 286.84 lakh hectare against 278.77 lakh hectare last year.

However, no indications were given as to the quality of wheat following high temperatures in the recent past. The farm ministry said that any adverse impact on the wheat output on account of higher than normal temperatures on the wheat crop in the north was nullified by low night temperatures. However, the acreage for both oilseeds and coarse cereals have dropped markedly , the former from 101.39 lakh ha to only 97.40 lakh ha and the latter from 68.88 lakh ha to only 65.20 lakh ha.