Agriculture growth seen lower at 1.1 pc in 2014-15

Agriculture and allied sectors' growth is estimated at 1.1 per cent this fiscal, down from 3.7 per cent in the previous year, due to estimated decline in production of foodgrains and oilseeds.
According to the Agriculture Ministry data, which has been used in compiling the estimate of GDP from agriculture in 2014-15, foodgrains production is expected to decline by 2.9 per cent as compared to increase of 3 per cent in the previous agriculture year.
Production of pulses and oilseeds is also expected to decline by 3.4 and 9.6 per cent respectively as against an increase of 5 and 6.3 per cent in the previous agriculture year, an official statement said.

However, among the horticultural crops, production of fruits and vegetables is expected to increase by 1.1 per cent during the year 2014-15 as compared to increase of 3.5 per cent in previous agriculture year.
India's foodgrains production is estimated to be 264.77 million tonnes in 2013-14 crop year (July-June).
However, the foodgrain output is likely to decline in 2014-15 due to poor monsoon last year.
According to the first advance estimates for 2014-15 crop year, total foodgrains output in Kharif season (summer-sown) is estimated at 120.27 million tonnes compared to record output of 129.24 million tonnes in the previous year.

Although agriculture contributes only about 13-14 per cent to the country's GDP, about 50 per cent of the population is dependent on the farm sector.