Agriculture Ministry is in a tizzy as advance estimates of GDP and GVA of the farm sector released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) paint a grim picture with the current fiscal registering a meagre 2.1 per cent growth compared to 4.9 per cent in the last fiscal.
The area coverage under different crops in Kharif as of August, 2017 was below that of the previous year on account of delay in onset of monsoons in some parts of the country.
However, good rainfall thereafter helped the Ministry in increasing the area coverage in accordance with kharif targets. Despite delay in onset of monsoons and relatively poorer rainfall vis-à-vis the previous year, the area coverage under kharif finally rose to 106.55 million ha. against the five year average of 105.86 million ha.
Official sources say the government contemplates taking steps to ease sluggishness in agriculture and allied sectors.
The Advance Estimates are based on the data on crop coverage and estimated production shared by the Directorate of Economics & Statistics (DES), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare.