Parliament Question: Production of Major Crops

O.I.H. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2732 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 16TH DECEMBER, 2025 PRODUCTION OF MAJOR CROPS 2732. SHRI GYANESHWAR PATIL: SMT. DELKAR KALABEN MOHANBHAI: SHRI BHUMARE SANDIPANRAO ASARAM: SHRI NILESH DNYANDEV LANKE: DR. SHIVAJI BANDAPPA KALGE: Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण मं(cid:361)ी be pleased to state: (a) the current status of agricultural production of major crops in the country; (b) the measures taken by the Government to increase productivity and ensure food security in different States of the country, particularly in Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra and Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli; (c) the details of assistance given to farmers in the form of subsidy, irrigation facilities and access to technology; (d) the plans of the Government to tackle challenges like climate change, pest attacks and market fluctuations affecting agricultural production; and (e) the steps being taken to promote sustainable and organic farming practices? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण रा(cid:475) मं(cid:361)ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR) (a): The details of the production of major agricultural crops in the country are given in the Annexure. (b): To increase productivity and ensure food security, the Government is implementing the National Food Security & Nutrition Mission (NFSNM) in the 28 States and 2 Union Territories (UTs) with the objective to increase production of Rice, Wheat, Coarse Cereals (Maize & Barley), Commercial Crops (Cotton, Jute & Sugarcane) and Nutri-Cereals (Shree Anna) through area expansion and productivity enhancement. Under NFSNM-Nutri-Cereals, assistance is being provided to the farmers, through the States/UTs, on crop production & protection technologies demonstration, for distribution of certified seeds, for production of certified seeds, for Integrated Nutrient and Pest Management measures, for capacity building of farmers through cropping system-based trainings etc. Seed minikits of newly released varieties/hybrids, are also distributed through the States by agencies. Flexibility has been given to States / UTs to identify districts for implementation of different components of the Mission, subject to inter-alia conditions that prioritize districts with low productivity but high potential.(c): To provide irrigation facilities, the Government is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) in the Country from the year 2015-16. During 2015-16 to 2021-22, PDMC has been implemented as a component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). From the year 2022-23, the scheme is being implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY). The Micro Irrigation helps in water saving as well as reduced fertilizer usage through fertigation, savings on labour expenses and other input costs and overall income enhancement of farmers. The Government provides financial assistance @ 55% for small and marginal farmers and @ 45% for other farmers for installation of Drip and Sprinkler systems under the PDMC. The Assistance for installation of Micro Irrigation systems is limited to 5 hectares per beneficiary. The Government of India supports and facilitates the State Governments for infusing modern and smart farming technologies in the agriculture sector. The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization’ (SMAM) is being implemented across the country with the objective to increase the reach of farm mechanization to the small and marginal farmers and to the regions where availability of farm power is low. The scheme promotes ‘Custom Hiring Centres’ to offset the adverse economies of scale arising due to small landholding & high cost of individual ownership of agricultural machines. Under the Scheme, financial assistance @ 40% to 50% of the cost of machines, depending on the categories of farmers, is provided for purchase of agricultural machines. The Government of India is implementing the Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM) to promote precision farming, satellite-based crop monitoring, and AI-driven advisories for improving productivity and resource efficiency. The Mission focuses on building a strong Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture, including AgriStack, the Krishi Decision Support System, and comprehensive soil profile mapping. AgriStack comprises foundational databases such as Farmers’ Registry, Geo-referenced Village Maps, and Crop Sown Registry, enabling timely and reliable crop-related information for farmers. The Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC) supports the Mission through satellite-based crop forecasting under the FASAL project, drought monitoring, and technological support to PMFBY through YES-TECH and digital crop-cutting experiments. The Government is also promoting AI and IoT-based solutions for personalized and semi-personalized advisories and improved farm management. Key initiatives include the AI-powered Kisan e-Mitra chatbot for addressing farmer queries and the National Pest Surveillance System, which uses AI/ML tools to detect pest infestations and reduce crop losses. (d): To tackle the challenge of climate change affecting agricultural production, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is focusing on the development of high-yielding climate resilient and nutritionally rich field-crop varieties along with the location specific production and protection technologies. Developed improved varieties, production and protection technologies are being disseminated among farmers for large-scale adoption through outreach activities viz., training/sensitization programmes during the crop season, on-farm trials & frontline demonstrations, diagnostic field visits and field friends programmes as well as through social media platforms. The National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS) has been launched on 15th August, 2024 to enhance the surveillance and management of pest and diseases across the country. The system utilizes latest digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI and ML) for identification of pests and diseases and provide real time crop protection advisory to the farmers in all the States.In order to regulate market price fluctuations, the Government fixes Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for 22 mandated agricultural crops based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), after considering the views of State Governments and Central Ministries/Departments concerned. The 22 mandated crops include 14 Kharif crops. The Union Budget for 2018-19 had announced the pre-determined principle to keep MSPs at levels of one and half times of the cost of production. Accordingly, Government had increased MSPs for all mandated Kharif, Rabi and other Commercial crops with a minimum return of 50 percent over All-India weighted average cost of production from the year 2018-19 onwards. For perishable agricultural and horticultural commodities, including vegetables and fruits, which are not covered under the MSP, Government implements Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) on the request of State/UT Government concerned. The objective of intervention is to protect the growers of these commodities from making distress sale in the event of a bumper crop during the peak arrival period when the prices tend to fall below economic levels and cost of production. Further, the Government is implementing National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), a virtual platform integrating physical wholesale mandis/ markets of different States/ Union Territories (UTs) to facilitate online trading of agricultural commodities through transparent price discovery method to enable farmers to realize better remunerative prices for their products. (e): To promote sustainable farming practices, National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, a part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), is being implemented by the Government which aims to evolve and implement strategies to make Indian agriculture more resilient to the changing climate. Organic farming is being promoted through the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) in all the States/UTs, except the North Eastern States, and Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) for the North Eastern States since 2015-16. Both schemes stress on end-to-end support to the farmers engaged in organic farming i.e. from production to processing, certification and marketing. Primary focus of the schemes is to form organic clusters, with preference to small and marginal farmers, to create a supply chain. Both the schemes are implemented through States/UTs Governments. Under PKVY, assistance of Rs. 31,500 per ha in 3 years is provided for promotion of organic farming. Out of this, assistance of Rs. 15,000 per ha is provided to farmers through Direct Benefit Transfer for on-farm / off-farm organic inputs. Under MOVCDNER, assistance of Rs. 46,500/ha in 3 years is provided for creation of Farmers Producer Organization, support to farmers for organic inputs etc. Out of this, assistance @ Rs. 32,500/ ha is provided to farmers for off-farm / on-farm organic inputs under the scheme including Rs. 15,000 as Direct Benefit Transfer to the farmers.Annexure Production of major agricultural crops in the country during the year 2024-25 Source: DA&FW Crop Production in Lakh Tonnes Rice 1501.84 Wheat 1179.45 Maize 434.09 Shree Anna /Nutri Cereals 185.92 Tur 36.24 Gram 111.14 Urad 22.42 Moong 42.44 Total Pulses 256.83 Total Food Grains 3577.32 Groundnut 119.42 Soybean 152.68 Rapeseed & Mustard 126.67 Total Oil Seeds 429.89 Sugarcane 4546.11 Cotton 297.24 # Cotton Production in Lakh Bales, 1Bale=170 Kg ******