The Odisha government has targeted for 20 per cent higher food grain production at 7.65 million tonnes during the kharif 2012 on the hopes of normal monsoon and better productivity.
This is 1.36 million tonne more than the production in the previous kharif season.
In kharif-2011, the food grain output stood at 6.29 million tonnes with the total food grain production for 2011-12 (including kharif and rabi seasons) being 7.76 million tonnes, despite aberrant rainfall during kharif season affecting around 10 lakh hectares of land on account of drought and then flood.
The food grain output in the rabi season was 1.47 million tonne.
This year’s target included 7.22 million tones of cereals (6.38 million tonne rice, 0.65 million tonne maize and 0.17 million tonne ragi), and 0.43 million tonne of pulses (0.13 million tonne arhar, 0.11 million tonne mung and 0.14 million tonne biri etc).
“The agriculture department has prepared elaborate strategy to increase the production as well as the productivity of various crops during the current kharif season. If we get normal rainfall during monsoon, we can achieve the targeted output,” a senior agriculture officer said.
As per the strategy, the government plans increase the coverage area under location-specific high yielding and hybrid varieties, promotion of mixed and inter-cropping, crop substitution, seed treatment, soil testing, balanced used of fertilizers, promotion of organic farming, farm mechanization, management of pest and disease etc.
The agriculture department has targeted to cultivate cereals in 4.46 million hectares of land with the productivity of 1,620 kg per hectare. It included 4 million hectares of paddy with productivity of 2,600 kg per hectare. Similarly, the coverage area for pulses is targeted at 0.74 million hectares with the productivity of 584 kg per hectare.
The department intends to supply 6,15,868 quintals of quality seed of different crops during the current kharif and aims to increase the consumption of the fertilizer to 82 kg (nutrient) this season from 58.82 kg in the previous year.
