2nd Advance Estimates of production of major crops for 2017-18

Question- On February 27, 2018, the 2nd Advance Estimates of production of major crops for 2017-18 have been released by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare in New Delhi. According to this, how many million tonnes of foodgrain production is estimated in the country?
(a) 275.68 million ton
(b) 265.65 million ton
(c) 277.49 million ton
(d) 280.60 million ton
Answer: (c) 
Related Facts

  • On February 27, 2018, the 2nd Advance Estimates of production of major crops for 2017-18 have been released by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare in New Delhi.
  • The assessment of production of different crops is based on the feedback received from States and validated with information available from other sources.
  • The estimated production of various crops as per the 2nd Advance Estimates for 2017-18 vis-à-Vis the comparative estimates for the years 2003-04 onwards is enclosed.
  • As per 2nd Advance Estimates, the estimated production of major crops during 2017-18 is as under:
  • Foodgrains – 277.49 million tonnes (record)
    • Rice – 111.01 million tonnes (record)
    • Wheat – 97.11 million tonnes
    • Coarse Cereals – 45.42 million tonnes (record)
    • Maize – 27.14 million tonnes (record)
    • Pulses – 23.95 million tonnes (record)
    • Gram – 11.10 million tonnes (record)
    • Tur – 4.02 million tonnes
    • Urad – 3.23 million tonnes (record)
  • Oilseeds – 29.88 million tonnes
    • Soyabean – 11.39 million tonnes
    • Groundnut – 8.22 million tonnes
    • Castorseed – 1.50 million tonnes
  • Cotton – 33.92 million bales (of 170 kg each)
  • Sugarcane – 353.23 million tonnes
  • As a result of near normal rainfall during monsoon 2017 and various policy initiatives taken by the Government, country has witnessed record Foodgrains production in the current year.
  • As per Second Advance Estimates for 2017-18, total foodgrains production in the country is estimated at 277.49 million tonnes which is higher by 2.37 million tonnes than the previous record production of foodgrains of 275.11 million tonnes achieved during is estimated at record 111.01 million tonnes.
  • Production of rice has increased by 1.31 million tonnes than the production of 109.70 million tonnes during 2016-17.
  • It is also higher by 4.71 million tonnes than the five years’ average production of 106.29 million tonnes.
  • Production of Wheat estimated at 97.11 million tonnes is lower by 1.40 million tonnes as compared to record wheat production of 98.51 million tonnes achieved during 2016-17.
  • However, the production of wheat during 2017-18 is higher by 3.77 million tonnes than the average wheat production.
  • Production of Coarse cereals estimated at record 45.42 million tonnes is higher than the average production by 3.72 million tonnes.
  • Further, it is also higher by 1.65 million tonnes as compared to their production of 43.77 million tonnes achieved during 2016-17.
  • Total Pulses production during 2017-18 is estimated at record 23.95 million tonnes which is higher by 0.82 million tonnes than the previous year’s production of 23.13 million tonnes.
  • Moreover, the production of pulses during 2017-18 is higher than the Five years ‘average production by 5.10 million tonnes.
  • Total Oilseeds production in the country during 2017-18 is estimated at 29.88 million tonnes which is lower by 1.39 million tonnes than the production of 31.28 million tonnes during 2016-17.
  • However, the production of oilseeds during 2017-18 is marginally higher by 0.34 million tonnes than the average oilseeds production.
  • With a significant increase by 47.16 million tonnes over 2016-17, total production of Sugarcane in the country during 2017-18 is estimated at 353.23 million tonnes.
  • The production of sugarcane during 2017-18 is also higher by 11.19 million tonnes than the average sugarcane production of 342.04 million tonnes.
  • Production of Cotton estimated at 33.92 million bales (of 170 kg each) is higher than the previous year’s production of 32.58 million bales.
  • Further, it is also higher by 0.41 million bales than its average production of 33.50 million bales.
  • Production of Jute & Mesta estimated at 10.51 million bales (of 180 kg each) is lower than their production during the 2016-17.

Reference:             
http://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1521936