83.25 million tonne rice production estimated in current kharif strategy for ensuing rabi season finalised two-day national campaign for rabi ends
	18:16 IST

The National Conference on Agriculture for Rabi Campaign 2008 ended here today after finalizing the strategy for the coming rabi season. All the States participated in the Conference. At the end of the Conference, 1st advance estimates for kharif crops were also released. Based on the estimates, production of over 115 million tonne foodgrains  has been achieved, out of which, 83.25 MT is rice. Details about the Conference and the estimates  are as follows: Conference proceedings             The National Conference on Agriculture for Rabi Campaign 2008 was held on    24th – 25th September 2008.  The Conference was inaugurated by Shri T. Nand Kumar, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC).  The Conference was also addressed by Shri Pradeep Kumar, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy & Fisheries (DAHDF), Shri Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Fertilizer and Dr. J. S. Samra, CEO, National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA).  The participants at the two day Conference included Principal Secretaries/State Agricultural Production Commissioners, Vice-Chancellors of State Agriculture Universities, Officers of Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Scientists from the ICAR, NIC and others.             In his inaugural address Shri T. Nand Kumar highlighted some of the recent achievements in the agriculture sector. He pointed out that the record production of 231 million tonnes of foodgrains, 28.82 million tonnes of oilseeds and 25.81 million bales of cotton during 2007-08 was an indicator of the tremendous efforts put in both by farmers and officials at the State level. He informed that there was a shortfall in kharif area coverage this year due to late arrival of monsoon and floods in some parts of the country and it was in this context that the Rabi Conference assumes greater importance. All out efforts should be made to make up for the loss of area/ damage due to floods during the ensuing Rabi season. It would not be difficult to increase area in Rabi if adequate post flood management measures in the affected areas are taken.             He stressed that in order to tackle the problem of food security on long term basis, the issues relating to food, feed and fuel have to be addressed in a balanced manner. In this context he mentioned that while Government of India has taken a conscious decision of using only agricultural waste and agricultural by-products for bio-fuel, the problem requires attention at global level because of change in cropping pattern due to incentives by some developed countries for encouraging business to convert corn and soyabean into fuel, leading to global shortages of foodgrains.             He mentioned that under the debt waiver scheme launched by the Government to address the problems of indebted farmers, about Rs. 67 thousand crore have been granted to around 3.64 crore farmers. However, to ensure adequate flow of fresh credit for future growth of the sector, there is need to open credit lines for all those farmers who could not avail credit in the current Kharif season. Highlighting the fact of substantial enhancement in the central plan outlay for the agriculture sector, he emphasized upon the need to translate it into greater investment and productivity in the sector for which our monitoring mechanism needs to be upgraded.             Secretary (A&C) further highlighted the fact that Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojna launched by the Ministry gives a lot of flexibility to States to choose area specific schemes suitable for different districts. However, to optimize the benefits from the scheme there is a need to have proper district agriculture plans. In view of the fact that the entire success of the scheme rests on proper formulation and implementation of these plans, he urged the State Governments to expedite formulation of suitable district plans by taking technical support/help from State Agricultural Universities/ ICAR centers etc.  The district agriculture plans should also take into account possible convergence of activities under NREGA, BRGF, watershed management as well as setting up soil health laboratories etc. The district plans on RKVY should also promote activities under Animal Husbandry and Fisheries sectors which have scope for faster growth. In this context he also mentioned that for proper implementation of these plans to derive maximum output, the State Agricultural Secretaries will have to ensure proper management and timely flow of inputs at district level.             He lauded the efforts of State Governments in implementing the National Food Security Mission which has significant contribution in improving the production of wheat, rice and pulses in the country. However, for fully meeting the targets of NFSM, the progress of implementation of the program is required to be closely monitored and a comparative analysis of area, production and yield of NFSM and non-NFSM districts in the States must be done.             He expressed concern that the pace of utilization of funds under the ATMA program has been slow and due to non-utilization of funds already released to States, no funds could be released in the current year. He requested the States to address the problem immediately and send a report for timely release of additional funds from the Ministry.             In the context of implementation of schemes under the National Horticulture Mission, he mentioned that while there has been considerable focus on Mission-II, i.e., production related activities, there is a need for more attention in the vital areas of post harvest management and marketing infrastructure in the NHM clusters. He also stressed upon the need to evaluate the impact of the Mission in respect of major horticulture crops on the basis of benchmark data for 2004-05 and the estimates of area, production and yield during 2007-08.             Lastly, he stated that the seed and fertilizer position at macro level is comfortable and no problem of shortages on these inputs is likely if the States ensure proper logistic support for timely supply of seeds and fertilizers in the needy areas.             The Conference was also addressed by Dr. Pradeep Kumar, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries. He stated that the above sectors have much more potential for higher growth. As such to achieve the target of 4% growth in the overall agriculture sector, the Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries sector will require to be given much more attention. Further, as distribution of livestocks is more equitable to the small and marginal farmers than the distribution of land, a fillip to this sector will largely benefit poor families in the rural areas. He also added that with increasing income levels, the demand for livestock products is going to increase and, therefore, in the coming years the livestock sector will play a major role in tackling the problem of food security. In the above background he highlighted the following issues to be addressed by the State Agriculture Departments on priority basis: i)                     At present, against 31% contribution in the overall agriculture sector output, the allocation under RKVY for the Animal Husbandry Sector is only about 13%. As such, for the all-round development of the district, the infrastructure development for the Animal Husbandry needs to be given higher priority in the district agriculture plan. ii)                   The Animal Husbandry sector is facing serious constraints in availability of feed and fodder. Unless we increase the availability of feed and fodder, the productivity of livestock sector will not increase. As the above inputs come from agricultural land, there is a need for mainstreaming their production in the overall policy for agricultural production. iii)                  There have been significant R&D activities in the Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries sector but the Department has no infrastructure for educating the farmers about the R&D activities in the sector. Therefore, the extension machinery of the State Agriculture Department alongwith Animal Husbandry Department available in the field may also be utilized to take the latest developments in the sector to farmers.             Dr. P. K. Agrawal from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) gave a presentation on the possible impact of Climate Change on Indian Agriculture. He informed that the impact of climate change on Indian agriculture is likely to be reflected in increased droughts and floods leading to increase in production variability. Increased atmospheric temperatures are likely to reduce the crop productivities specially during Rabi season. He stressed on actions to be taken for adaptation and mitigation strategies which include assisting farmers in coping with current climatic risks, intensifying food production systems, improving land and water management, enabling policies and strengthening adaptation research.              Dr. N. B. Singh, Agriculture Commissioner gave a presentation on the review of Kharif 2008-09 and preparedness for Rabi 2008-09. He stated that the monsoon rainfall this year have been good and well distributed. However, some parts, e.g., Maharashtra, North Interior Karnataka, Gujarat and Rayalseema experienced late and deficient/ scanty rains. This coupled with floods in some other parts of the country have resulted in loss in area coverage under different Kharif crops. He urged the States to make up for this lost area during the coming Rabi season. During the deliberations, the State Secretaries’ assessment was that additional area under wheat would be about 1 million hectares, pulses about 1.5 million hectares and under other crops about 5 lakh hectares. The addition in area is expected to compensate the loss in area during the Kharif season.             Ms. Upma Chaudhary, Joint Secretary, DAC gave a presentation on seeds, covering seeds production, its availability during ensuing Rabi 2008 season and schemes of Seeds Division aiming at promotion of seeds production in the country. She highlighted that as per the requirement assessed under the National Seed Plan, production of certified and quality seeds in the country was continuously increasing and enough seeds are available to take care of the States’ requirements during the coming Rabi season. She urged the States to give higher thrust on seed production and make use of the funds available under different schemes for this purpose.             Dr. J. S. Samra, Chief Executive Officer, National Rainfed Area Authority, while speaking on convergence of various schemes for enhancing productivity and resource use efficiency, laid emphasis on establishing convergence and synergy among ongoing developmental programmes for sustainable livelihood and food security. He stressed that ensuring linkage in the processes, planning and implementation of various programmes is important and economical. The ecological and social benefits should be maximized from the existing investment and infrastructure created under various programmes/schemes.             Shri D. P. Misra, General Manager, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) gave a presentation on credit flow and related issues. He informed that the Farm Credit Package of 2004 had tremendously increased the credit flow to agriculture.  He mentioned that credit is an important input for agriculture and the cooperative banks and institutions need to be activated to increase the credit flow. He stated that rural credit needs to be viewed as business opportunity and tremendous scope exists for credit widening and deepening through innovative credit products.             Dr. S. M. Jharwal, Principal Adviser, DAC spoke on the macro issues such as growth rate, investment and implementation of National Policy for farmers. He brought out that even if we achieve 4% growth rate for agriculture and 9% growth for the economy as a whole as targeted for the 11th Plan, the share of agriculture is estimated to come down from 18% to 11% by the end of the Plan. This would imply that if a considerable manpower is not shifted out of agriculture to non-farm sector, the per capita income in the farm sector would fall. Therefore, a specific priority needs to be given to the small and marginal farm households for their skill development for non-farm activities. On the investment front, innovative policies need to be adopted to encourage private investment in agriculture, which is required to be of the order of about Rs. 4 lakh crore out of total investment requrement of Rs. 6 lakh crore during the Plan period. Further, to implement the National Policy for farmers, 2007, an Action Plan has been prepared by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, which needs to be implemented by States.             The ICAR emphasized to promote improved technologies of production to enhance the productivity. It was pointed out that a large number of new varieties of wheat, barley, rabi sorghum, boro/summer rice, winter maize, forage crops, gram, lentil and oilseed crops have been developed and are available. These varieties have higher yield potential than the traditional farmers’ varieties. It was further emphasized to improve the nutrient and water use efficiency to reduce cost of production.             Shri Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary (Fertilizer) assured that all out efforts would be made to reach/ provide the required fertilizers to the farmers across various States. However, the States need to take a close review and monitor their availability right up to the field level.             Presentations were also made by some progressive farmers from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Punjab on cultivation of flowers & vegetables, rice and wheat in which they described their personal experiences of how adoption of new technologies and availing the facilities various schemes has helped them in increasing their farm incomes through tremendous increase in productivity.             The general recommendations of the Conference are given in Annexure-I.             Based on the assessments given by the State Governments, the 1st Advance Estimates of crop production for 2008-09 were also finalized which are given at  Annexure-II. While concluding the conference, Shri T. Nand Kumar stressed upon the States to undertake a well-coordinated action for successful implementation of various schemes of the Department to ensure increased agricultural production and higher income to farmers.  Annexure – I RECOMMENDATIONS  Crops Wheat 1.                   Ensuring timely sowing of wheat.  Sowing of wheat should be completed by November end; 2.                   Promotion of zero till seed drills, seed-cum-fertilizer drills, strip drill, raised bed planter, rotavators and diesel-pump sets.  3.                   Efficient use of irrigation water through sprinklers and light irrigation. 4.                   Replacement of most popular wheat variety PBW 343 with DBW 17, HD 2687, PBW 550(Punjab) and other improved variety.    Rabi / Summer Rice 1.                   Timely supply of certified seeds of early duration and recently released high yielding varieties may be ensured; and, 2.                   Timely and balanced use of fertilizers along with organic manures and micro-nutrients in deficient areas may be advocated particularly in the states of Assam, Bihar, Orissa and also where consumption of fertilizers is less.   Rabi Jowar 1.                   Encouraging inter-cropping to minimize risk and realize additional production; and 2.                   Emphasizing on pest management through IPM with need based use of pesticides; etc.   Pulses   1.                   Promotion of high yielding varieties of pulses must be done. 2.                   Undertake a campaign for conservation of residual moistures for sowing of Rabi pulses especially in rain-fed areas. 3.             Timely sowing and zero till seeding is to be promoted. 4.             Seed priming is of importance alongwith intercropping of sugarcane/mustard/wheat.   Oilseeds   1.         More than 350 improved varieties/hybrids have been developed in annual oilseeds during last 2 decades but most of them not reached farmers due to lacunae in seed planning and production.  The States are required to augment the production of quality seeds to increase SRR of oilseeds.   2.         Considering favourable conditions for area coverage under Rapeseed and Mustard, the States of Rajasthan, UP, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and West Bengal can take up a campaign for timely sowing of Rapeseed & Mustard during ensuing Rabi.   3.         The Productivity of Rabi groundnut is higher than in Kharif.  The States of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka can focus on higher area coverage under Rabi Groundnut during 2008-09.   4.         Need to promote seed treatment and treatment and protective irrigation to ensure maximum yield of oilseeds and pulses.   Utilization of rice fallows                         Rice fallows in Eastern India must be utilized to increase crop production. 1.                   Seeds must be soaked in water for 6 to 8 hours(seed priming) 2.                   Seed treatment with fungicide and rhizobium 3.                   Foliar spray of  2% urea at pre-flowering and podding.    Plan /strategies for increasing area under Cereals during Rabi Season   Drought affected areas   The States of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu which are major rabi jowar growing States may take necessary steps for increasing area and productivity of the crop so that the production loss due to deficient rains in kharif would be compensated by increased area and productivity in the rabi season.  The  following key agronomical practices could  be followed:- 1.       The sown seeds should be treated with chemicals for protection against pests and disease. 2.       In case of lesser moisture in the field during sowing time, increase seed rate by about 20%. 3.       Spray 2% urea solution at flowering stage in the rainfed areas. 4.       Adopt soil moisture conservation techniques by mulching and hoeing of the fields. 5.       Promote intercrops in place of pure crops to increase overall income of the farmers.   Flood affected areas               During Kharif 2008 season   some States suffered crop losses due to floods like Bihar, Eastern UP ,Orissa, Assam etc.   The following are some of the interventions as a contingent plan for flood affected areas: 1.         Where flood water recedes by mid September ·     The old seedlings (30-40 days) of paddy may be uprooted and transplanted again at a 10 x 10 cm spacing using 4-5 seedlings per hill with a NPK @ 40-40-20 kg per hectare.  ·     Kulthi can also be sown as an alternate crop.   2.         Where flood water recedes by 30th September ·       From third week of September onwards in uplands Toria ( a type of rapeseed & mustard) can be sown @ 5 kg per hectare on 30 x 10 cm spacing. ·       In medium lands,Rabi crops like gram, lentil etc. can be sown while fodder maize, berseem, fodder jowar can also be sown. ·       In sandy soils, vegetable crops like radish, palak, methi, while in medium textured soils ,cabbage, turnip, carrot etc. can be sown with  life saving irrigation.   3.          Where flood water recedes from 1st October onwards ·      The low lying areas may remain wet for a long time and therefore, Rabi sowing of wheat may be taken up with zero tillage machines.  Likewise, lentil can also be sown with such machines.  In upland areas with irrigation water available, vegetables, rabi maize, potato, onion, sweat potato, mustard etc. can be taken up.               The States may indicate their plans, strategies for increasing production of Rabi crops to compensate for the losses that occurred due to floods during the Kharif season. National Food Security Mission (NFSM)  National Food Security Mission 1.       For the coming Rabi Season against the approved plan of the States 80 % of the amount has been released. Thus, funds are adequately placed in advance with the State Agencies. It should be ensured that the Districts in turn get the amounts in time to implement their various planned programs. 2.       It would be seen that the progress in the achievement of physical targets in 2007-08 is not fully reflected on the financial side in terms of expenditure booked. As a result there is a lot of unspent balance available with the States as on 1st April 2008. States need to reconcile these figures and book additional expenditure commensurate with the physical progress. 3.       A month by month expenditure plan needs to be prepared in the format prescribed to facilitate timely release of funds from the Central level to the States and to the Mission districts in turn. 4.       While sending the Utilization Certificates, the amount of interest accrued on the unspent balances lying with the Banks should be accounted for and reflected in the Certificates. 5.       There is no proposal formulated from the States for release of funds under Local Initiatives, Pilot Projects on Blue Bulls, community generators and for strengthening the State Seeds Certification Agencies. 6.       There is a need for drawing up a publicity campaign plan duly synchronized with the plan being implemented by the Extension Division of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation. Funds under this component have not been fully utilized for the previous year. 7.       A quick appraisal of the productivity performance of the NFSM in Rabi 2007-08 shows huge difference in the levels reached by different Mission Districts in the same State. A detailed review needs to be taken by the State Government as to the reason for relatively lesser outcomes especially for those districts that are showing negative growth compared to previous year despite support under NFSM this year. 8.       Bench mark surveys of the NFSM districts needs to be completed at the earliest so as to begin the overdue concurrent evaluation to be taken at the end of each crop season. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana             The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) was launched during 2007-08.   The new scheme gives flexibility and autonomy to the States in planning and execution of projects in agriculture and allied sectors.  In the first year of the scheme, 90% of the project cost was released to the States, but there was delay in release of funds to the implementing agencies in several States.  This year, only 50% of the project cost is being released as the first instalment and the release of subsequent instalments would depend on the pace of utilization.  Therefore, it is of critical importance that those States which have not held the meetings of the State Level Sanctioning Committee(SLSC), hold these meetings at the earliest.  Further, the release of funds and execution of works may be monitored on a regular basis. The States are requested to indicate the status of the following: a)      Status of formulation of District Agriculture Plan, indicating inter-alia the number of the districts for which such plans have been prepared and the expenditure reflected in these District Agriculture Plans. The DAPs should be prepared carefully outlining clearly the strategic imperatives for growth of agriculture and allied sectors.  The project preparation should be of high quality.  Convergence with other schemes such as NREGA, BRGF, Bharat Nirman etc. should be included for maximizing outcomes. b)      Updated financial and physical performance, Project-wise, under Stream I of the RKVY during 2007-08. c)      Projects/schemes that have been strengthened with Stream II funds of RKVY during 2007-08 d)      Holding of SLSC meetings for approval of projects during 2008-09. e)      Steps taken to accelerate implementation of projects and utilization of funds.   Extension   1.                   The pace of utilization of funds by the states under ATMA programme has been slow which led to huge unspent balances at the beginning of the current financial year. Consequently, no fresh releases are made to the states with heavy balances despite approval of their State Extension Work Plans (SEWPs). The states may therefore make efforts to immediately liquidate their unspent balances. 2.                   The funds to the states are released on the basis of SEWPs. The SEWPs for new/ old districts are awaited from the states namely – A.P., Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Uttrakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Delhi, Pondicherry and Goa. 3.                   The SREPs of new districts are also awaited from the states whose SEWPs for the new districts have not been received. 4.                   To facilitate timely releases, the states may ensure submission of Audited Utilization Certificates for the grants in aid released to them during 2007-08 and any other UC pending for the previous year.  The UCs are awaited from some states namely – Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, J&K, Kerala, Delhi and Pondicherry.    5.                   As many as 18 States have organized ‘Farmer Development Workshops and Exhibitions’ in the kharif season. The feed back as assessed in the recently held Regional Review Workshops has been quite encouraging. The states may continue this activity in the coming Rabi season and submit their proposals accordingly. The states whose SEWPs have already been approved may submit additional work plan to accomplish this task.   6.                   Farm schools operationalised by outstanding farmers and others at Panchayat/Gram Panchayat level for providing extension support to the leaders of farmer groups and other farmers are to be provided on priority basis with each block to have atleast one Farm School and preferably 3-5 Farm Schools.  The States may include this activity appropriately in their State Extension Work Plans.  Marketing              Agricultural Marketing Reforms             All the States have been requested to suitably amend the APMC Act on the lines suggested in the Model APMC Act, drafted and circulated by this Ministry.  So far, only 25 States have made amendments to their APMC Acts.The rest are at different stages of bringing reforms to their market legislation.             So far, only 7 States have notified their APMC Rules.              The States / UTs are requested to take the following action to implement the reforms measures in their States / UTs:- (i)                   Expediting the process of amending the APMC Act by Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, J&K, Uttaranchal, Goa, West Bengal, Pondicherry, NCT of Delhi. (ii)                 To frame the rules and regulations where the APMC Act has been amended covering, inter alia, provisioning for issue of a single licence for the procurement and marketing of agricultural commodities. Scheme for Development Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardization             With a view to attract large investment for the rapid development of Marketing and post harvest infrastructure in agriculture and allied sector, this Ministry has implemented a Scheme linked to reforms in the APMC Act, to provide investment subsidy on the capital cost of infrastructure project.  With the active involvement of State Governments, large investments can be mobilized in the sector.  The Director General, National Institute of Agricultural Marketing(NIAM),  Jaipur and the officers of the Directorate of Marketing & Inspection(DMI) would provide needed support to the State agencies for the effective implementation of the Scheme.  An MOU has been signed with NABARD Consultancy Services(NABCONS) to prepare Detailed Project Reports(DPR) of the projects under the scheme.  The States can make use of the Project Development Facility(PDF) for preparing project reports for creating market infrastructure.    Under the Terminal Market Scheme, the State Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Administration of Union Territory of Chandigarh have issued notices for Expression of Interests(EOI) for initiating the selection of PEs for 21 locations of terminal markets but bidding is actually progressing only in 7-8 locations.The States are advised to expedite matters.   Macro Management of Agriculture(MMA)   Macro Management of Agriculture(MMA) scheme has been revised from 2008-09.  It is important to note that as per the revised guidelines, it would not be possible to release the second instalment of funds after January, 2009.  Therefore, the States must take all possible steps to achieve the satisfactory level(greater than 60%) of utilization of funds and ensure that the proposal for release of second instalment is sent well in time(latest by December).   Rainfed Farming System               After the revision of guidelines of MMA, the cost norms of the watershed programmes have been increased considerably.  The total requirement of funds for saturation of the approved programmes is expected to increase by about 80-100%.  The State Governments should therefore make adequate provisions under MMA Scheme for watershed components to ensure that the activities taken up in the plan period are completed in time.  There is also a scope to cover larger area under RKVY for land development by supplementing resources for Natural Resource Management and land based development programmes.  It is suggested that some of the approved watershed projects wherever feasible, may be included under the District Agriculture Plan so as to ensure that all the approved programmes are completed during the plan period.   Integrated Nutrient Management               Due to release of funds through State Government, the Departments are taking very long in implementation of the programmes.  The States may be advised to speed up the process or may set up separate autonomous agencies for receipt and expenditure of funds directly by the implementing department.             The State Governments may be advised to open a separate Organic Farming Cell for effective implementation of NPOF. Annexure-II   1st Advance Estimates of Production of Foodgrains, Oilseeds and Other Commercial Crops during 2008-09  Highlights  During the Kharif 2008-09 season, the following has been production of various crops as per the 1st  Advance Estimates:   ·         Foodgrains production - 115.33 million tones. ·         Rice production - 83.25 million tonnes, expected to be a new record. ·         Coarse cereals production - 27.36 million tones. ·         Pulses production - 4.72 million tones. ·         Oilseeds production - 17.95 million tones. ·         Cotton production - 23.91 million tones. ·         Sugarcane production - 294.66 million tones.   The details are given below:            Production (Million Tonnes) Crop Normal* 2008-09 2007-08 Change 1st Advance Estimates 4th Advance Estimates 1st Advance Estimates Absolute % (Col 3 over Col 4) Absolute % (Col 3 over Col 5) 1 2 3 4 5 6 (=3-4) 7 8 (=3-5) 9 Foodgrains Rice 74.47 83.25 82.81 80.15 0.44 0.5 3.1 3.9 Jowar 4.18 3.09 4.14 3.60 -1.05 -25.4 -0.51 -14.2 Bajra 8.17 9.17 9.79 7.97 -0.62 -6.3 1.20 15.1 Maize 11.44 13.04 15.15 13.07 -2.11 -13.9 -0.03 -0.2 Coarse Cereals 26.18 27.36 31.70 26.58 -4.34 -13.7 0.78 2.9 Tur 2.39 2.37 3.09 2.70 -0.72 -23.3 -0.33 -12.2 Other Kharif Pulses 2.55 2.35 3.36 2.81 -1.01 -30.1 -0.46 -16.4 Total Pulses 4.94 4.72 6.45 5.51 -1.73 -26.8 -0.79 -14.3 Total Foodgrains 105.60 115.33 120.96 112.24 -5.63 -4.7 3.09 2.8 Oilseeds and other Commercial Crops Groundnut 4.96 6.10 7.48 5.18 -1.38 -18.4 0.92 17.8 Soyabean 7.29 9.94 9.99 9.04 -0.05 -0.5 0.90 10.0 Total Oilseeds 14.12 17.95 19.84 16.13 -1.89 -9.5 1.82 11.3 Cotton # 15.98 23.91 25.81 22.94 -1.90 -7.4 0.97 4.2 Jute @ 10.04 10.32 10.18 10.41 0.14 1.4 -0.09 -0.9 Mesta @ 0.92 0.82 0.99 0.89 -0.17 -17.2 -0.07 -7.9 Sugarcane 279.01 294.66 340.56 345.62 -45.90 -13.5 -50.96 -14.7   * Average of 5 years (2002-03 to 2006-07) # Million Bales of 170 kg each,   @ Million Bales of 180 kg each             The 1st Advance Estimates are based on the inputs received from State Governments, Crop Weather Watch Group reports, position of distribution of monsoon rains across State/regions and past yield trends.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         MP