Agribusiness Management and Trade

Lesson-24 Agricultural Production Scenario in India

24.2 BROAD CLASSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

Agricultural products may be categorized in to two broad groups viz crop and livestock products. For the better understanding the subject, these can be further classified as under.

1. Food Crops – plants grown primarily for the harvesting of any part which is used by man as food or processed into food product. This classification is a collective term for crops which are variously sub-classified into smaller groups such as cereals, root and tuber crops, legume seed crops, sugar crops, beverage crops, fruit crops and vegetables.

2. Non-food Crops- plants grown for the production of non-food products such as fiber, fodder, alcohol, tobacco, industrial oil, rubber, gums and resins, drugs, etc. or for ornamentation. Included in this classification are fiber crops, pasture and forage crops, rubber crops, latex and gum crops, dye and tannin crops, biofuel crops, essential-oil crops, biocidal crops and most industrial crops.

24.3   AREA UNDER MAJOR CROPS

As seen from the table 24.1 since 1971-72 there has been no much improvement in the total area of food grains which remained around 125 million ha. This is understandable because there is pressure on land due to increase in population as well as industrialisation. Within cereals there has been a slight decline in the area of cereals from 101.8 to 100.2 million ha. However, area under pulses has gained some area from 22.6 to 24.8 million ha. However, within cereals there were some changes that took place. The area under rice, wheat and maize have improved significantly (20 million ha together). The largest increase was in case of wheat crop area (11.7 million ha). However, this increase in area of above crops has come from the 11.1 million ha decline in Jowar area and remaining area from other millets. Similarly, area under the Oilseeds, Sugarcane and Cotton has also increased.

Table 24.1. Area under major agricultural crops from 1970-1 to 2011-12.

(Million hectares)

Group/Commodity	1970-1	1980-1	1990-1	2000-1	2007-8	2008-9	2009-1		2010-11					2011-12a
Foodgrains	124.3	126.7	127.8	121.0	124.1	122.8	121.3		126.7					125
Cereals	101.8	104.2	103.2	100.7	100.4	100.7	98.0		100.3					100.2
Pulses	22.6	22.5	24.7	20.3	23.6	22.1	23.3		26.4					24.8
Rice	37.6	40.1	42.7	44.7	43.9	45.5	41.9		42.9					44.0
Wheat	18.2	22.3	24.2	25.7	28.0	27.8	28.5		29.1					29.9
Jowar	17.4	15.8	14.4	9.9	7.8	7.5	7.7		7.4					6.3
Maize	5.8	6.0	5.9	6.6	8.1	8.2	8.3		8.6					8.7
Oilseeds a	16.6	17.6	24.1	22.8	26.7	27.5	26.0		27.2					26.4
Groundnut	7.3	6.8	8.3	6.6	6.3	6.2	5.5		5.9					5.3
Rapeseed and Mustard	3.3	4.1	5.8	4.5	5.8	6.3	5.6		6.9					5.9
Sugarcane	2.6	2.7	3.7	4.3	5.1	4.4	4.2		4.9					5.1
Cotton	7.6	7.8	7.4	8.6	9.4	9.4	10.1		11.2					12.2

Source :  Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation.

^a include groundnut, rapeseed & mustard, sesamum,linseed,castorseed, nigerseed, safflower, sunflower and soyabean.

24.4   PRODUCTION OF MAJOR CROPS

During the Eleventh Plan period, foodgrains production in the country recorded an increasing trend, except in 2009-10 when total foodgrains production declined to 218.1 million tonnes due to severe drought experienced in various parts of the country. During 2011-12, total foodgrains production reached an all-time high of 259.32 million tonnes.

The production trend of major agricultural commodities in India is given in the table 24.2. Though there was no significant increase in the area under foodgrains, the production registered a record increase from 108 to 259 Million Tonnes from 1970-71 to 2011-12. Most of the increase in the food grains may be attributed to rice and wheat which increased by 62 and 70 Million Tonnes respectively during same period. Apart from these crops production of pulses and maize also have improved with increase in the production of maize being more pronounced. The similar increase was also achieved in case of Oilseeds, Sugarcane, and cotton in this period. However, among oilseeds, the production of Groundnut did not increase with the same pace as of other oilseeds.

Table 24.2. Production of major agricultural crops from 1970-1 to 2011-12.

(Million Tonnes)

Group/Commodity	1970-1	1980-1	1990-1	2000-1	2007-8	2008-9	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12a
Foodgrains	108.4	129.6	176.4	196.8	230.8	234.4	218.1	244.5	257.4
Cereals	96.6	119.0	162.1	185.7	216.0	219.9	203.4	226.3	240.2
Pulses	11.8	10.6	14.3	11.0	14.8	14.6	14.7	18.2	17.2
Rice	42.2	53.6	74.3	85.0	96.7	99.2	89.1	96.0	104.3
Wheat	23.8	36.3	55.1	69.7	78.6	80.7	80.8	86.9	93.9
Jowar	8.1	10.4	11.7	7.5	7.9	7.2	6.7	7.0	6.0
Maize	7.5	7.0	9.0	12.0	19.0	19.7	16.7	21.7	21.6
Oilseeds a	9.6	9.4	18.6	18.4	29.8	27.7	24.9	32.5	30.0
Groundnut	6.1	5.0	7.5	6.4	9.2	7.2	5.4	8.3	6.9
Rapeseed and Mustard	2.0	2.3	5.2	4.2	5.8	7.2	6.6	8.2	6.8
Sugarcane	126.4	154.2	241.0	296.0	348.2	285.0	292.3	342.4	357.7
Cotton b	4.8	7.0	9.8	9.5	25.9	22.3	24.0	33.0	35.2

Source :  Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation.

^a Include groundnut, rapeseed & mustard, sesamum, linseed, castorseed, nigerseed, safflower, sunflower and soyabean. 

^b Bales of 170 Kgs.

24.5  YIELD OF MAJOR AGRICULTURAL CROOPS

Growth in the production of agricultural crops depends upon acreage and yield. Given the limitations in the expansion of acreage, the main source of long-term output growth is improvement in yields. The yield of major agricultural crops is given in the table 24.3. Yield of all the crops increased over the years. Except for the pulses the increase in the yield is significant in these years. In the  case of wheat, the growth in area and yield have been marginal during 2000-01 to 2010-11 suggesting that the yield levels have plateaued for this crop. This suggests the need for renewed research to boost production and productivity.

Table 24.3: Yield of major agricultural crops from 1970-1 to 2011-12.  (Kg/hectare)

Group/Commodity	1970-1	1980-1	1990-1	2000-1	2007-8	2008-9	2009-10		2010-11					2011-12a
Foodgrains	872	1023	1380	1626	1860	1909	1798		1930					2059
Cereals	949	1142	1571	1844	2151	2183	2075		2256					2396
Pulses	524	473	578	544	625	659	630		691					694
Rice	1123	1336	1740	1901	2202	2178	2125		2239					2372
Wheat	1307	1630	2281	2708	2802	2907	2839		2989					3140
Jowar	466	660	814	764	1021	962	860		949					954
Maize	1279	1159	1518	1822	2335	2414	2024		2540					2476
Oilseeds a	579	532	771	810	1115	1007	958		1193					1135
Groundnut	834	736	904	977	1459	1163	991		1411					1305
Rapeseed and Mustard	594	560	904	935	1001	1143	1183		1185					1145
Sugarcane (tonnes/hect.)	48	58	65	69	69	65	70		70					70
Cotton	106	152	225	190	467	403	403		499					491

Source : Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation.

^ainclude groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, sesamum,linseed,castorseed, nigerseed, safflower, sunflower and soyabean.

24.6  GROWTH ANALYSIS OF AREA, PRODUCTION, AND YIELD OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS

In order to have a better understanding about the trends in area, production and yield of the major crops, decadal growth rates were worked out and presented in the table 24.4.

There are limitations to the expansion of area for cultivation. Multiple cropping, improvement in yield levels and shifts in area for certain crops hold the key to the long-term output growth. An analysis of the all-India compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the indices of area, production, and yield of major agricultural crops during the last three decades indicates significant progress towards increasing production, yield levels and crop diversification. Overall, the 1980-90 period witnessed relatively higher growth in production and yield in major crops compared to the 1990-2000 period except for the marginal increase in growth of yield in coarse cereals and the same levels of growth in production of wheat and sugarcane. Further, a lower growth (coarse cereals, pulses, sugarcane) and marginally higher growth (rice, oilseeds) was observed in the area under these major crops during the 1990-2000 period vis a vis 1980-1990 except in wheat and cotton where growth rate was 1.72 per cent and 2.71 per cent respectively. By and large the growth rates achieved in the 1980-90 period could not be sustained during the 1990-2000 period. In coarse cereals yield increases were able to offset a negative growth in area. In both wheat and rice, in all the three sub periods, there was an increase in area and yield, though rate of increase in yield levels had significantly moderated in latter periods. Yield levels significantly improved for cotton, pulses and coarse cereals during 2000-2012.Cotton and pulses have become two 'star' performers, with Bt cotton and the pulses intensification programme being important reasons; oilseeds such as mustard and ground nuts too are responding reasonably well to better prices, as is the case in sugarcane.

Table 24.4: Decadal growth rates in Area, production and yield

	1980-81 to 1989-90			1990-91- to 1999-2000			2000-01 to 2011 -12 *
	Area	Production	Yield	Area	Production	Yield	Area	Production	Yield
Rice	0.41	3.62	3.19	0.68	2.02	1.34	0	1.78	1.78
Wheat	0.46	3.57	3.1	1.72	3.57	1.83	1.35	2.61	1.24
Coarse cereals	-1.34	0.4	1.62	-2.12	-0.02	1.82	-0.81	3.01	3.85
Total pulses	-0.09	1.52	1.61	-0.6	0.59	0.93	1.6	3.69	2.06
Sugarcane	1.44	2.7	1.24	-0.07	2.73	1.05	1.38	2.07	0.68
Total oilseeds	1.51	5.2	2.43	0.86	1.63	1.15	2.12	3.36	1.22
Cotton	-1.25	2.8	4.1	2.71	2.29	-0.41	3.22	13.53	9.99

Source: Economic Survey 2012-13

24.7   LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY POPULATION

The table 24.5 provides the data about the livestock and poultry population according to 2003 and 2007 census along with the growth rates. We can observe that the there was a positive growth in total livestock and poultry population in 2007. However, there was negative growth in case of Mithuns, Pigs and Other animal category.  Overall the growth was higher according to 2003 census compared to 2007 census.

Table 24.5: Livestock and poultry population and growth

Species	Livestock census		Growth rate
	2003	2007	2003	2007
Cattle	185.2	199.1	7.5	1.83
Buffalo	97.9	105.3	7.58	1.84
Yaks	0.1	0.1	27.95	6.36
Mithuns	0.3	0.3	-4.92	-1.25
Total Bovines	283.4	304.8	7.52	1.83
Sheep	61.5	71.6	16.41	3.87
Goat	124.4	140.5	13.01	3.1
Pigs	13.5	11.1	-17.65	-4.74
Other animals	2.2	1.7	-22.93	-6.3
Total Livestock	485	529.7	9.22	2.23
Poultry	489	648.9	32.69	7.33

Source: 17^th & 18th Livestock Census , Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries, M/O Agriculture

24.8  PRODUCTION OF LIVESTOCK AND FISH PRODUCTS

India has achieved a number one status in milk production in the world with 127.9 million tonnes in 2011-12 from mere 17 million tonnes in 1950-51. This achievement has been greatly credited to the operation flood programme which has drawn accolades throughout the world. Similar improvement in the production of eggs, wool, meat and fish production has been made by India. The details about the production is given in the table 24.6

Table 24.6: Production of major livestock and fish products

Year	Milk (million tonnes)	Eggs (million no.)	Wool (million kgs)	Meat* (million tonnes)	Fish products (‘000 tonnes)
1950-51	17	1,832	27.5		752
1960-61	20	2,881	28.7		1160
1970-71	22	6172			1756
1980-81	31.6	10,060	32		2442
1990-91	53.9	21,101	41.2		3836
2000-01	80.6	36,632	48.4	1.9	5656
2010-11	121.8	63,024	43	4.8	8400
2011-12	127.9	66450	46		8700

Source: Economic Survey, 2012-13 & Annual report, 2011-12, Dept of animal husbandry dairying & fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New delhi

24.9 State wise production of important crops

The table 24.6 provides the major top states producing the major crops in India.

Table 24.6: Production of important crops in three largest producing states

Crops/Groups of Crops	States	Production	% Share of production to All India	Cumulative % share of production
Rice	West Bengal	14.85	14.24	14.24
	Uttar Pradesh	14.03	13.45	27.68
	Andhra Pradesh	12.89	12.36	40.04
Wheat	Uttar Pradesh	30.29	32.26	32.26
	Punjab	17.21	18.33	50.59
	Haryana	12.68	13.50	64.09
Maize	Karnataka	4.09	18.96	18.96
	Andhra Pradesh	3.76	17.43	36.39
	Maharashtra	2.30	10.66	47.06
Groundnut	Gujarat	2.64	38.10	38.10
	Tamil Nadu	1.07	15.44	53.54
	Andhra Pradesh	0.85	12.27	65.80
Rapeseed & Mustard	Rajasthan	2.97	43.81	43.81
	Madhya Pradesh	0.87	12.83	56.64
	Haryana	0.86	12.68	69.32
Soyabean	Madhya Pradesh	6.28	51.14	51.14
	Maharashtra	4.03	32.82	83.96
	Rajasthan	1.39	11.32	95.28
Sunflower	Karnataka	0.19	38.00	38.00
	Andhra Pradesh	0.12	24.00	62.00
	Maharashtra	0.05	10.00	72.00
Sugarcane	Uttar Pradesh	128.82	36.02	36.02
	Maharashtra	81.86	22.89	58.90
	Tamil Nadu	39.28	10.98	69.89
Cottona	Gujarat	12.00	34.09	34.09
	Maharashtra	7.20	20.45	54.55
	Andhra Pradesh	4.90	13.92	68.47

^aProduction in million bales of 170 kgs.