Even as TN farm crisis grows, Modi govt predicts record national harvest

Govt's third advance estimate forecast India's foodgrain production to be the highest ever

As the impact of the worst northeast monsoon in 140 years unfolds across Tamil Nadu, farmers sowed a third less land than they did in 2015-16, water levels in six major reservoirs continued to plunge, and suicides in the farm sector increased over five years.

In the midst of this agrarian turmoil in a state that produced 5.6% of India’s rice in 2014-15, the agriculture ministry has predicted a record national harvest.

The agriculture ministry’s third advance estimate forecast India’s foodgrain production to