Thanks to a bumper paddy output, Telangana’s foodgrain production has shot up in 2019-20. According to the first Advance Estimates, the total foodgrain production would be a record 130 lakh tonnes, including 99 lakh tonnes of rice (converted from 148 lakh tonnes of paddy).

Foodgrain output showed a growth of 40 per cent over the previous year’s production of 93 lakh tonnes. The tally is more than the five-year average production of 83 lakh tonnes.

Despite a dismal start to the agricultural season, Telangana has reaped a bumper harvest this year, with paddy leading the table with a 48 per cent growth in output.

According to the estimates compiled by the government, the paddy production is pegged at 148 lakh tonnes in the kharif and rabi seasons for the year 2019-20. This is 48 per cent more than the previous year’s tally of 100 lakh tonnes.

Acreage goes up, too

The growth is attributed mostly to the increase in area under the crop. From 48 lakh acres in 2018-19, the area under paddy went up to 68.50 lakh acres, a growth of 43.50 per cent. A State government official said the increase was made possible because of a slew of irrigation projects that were taken up by the Government.

The growth in production is also attributed to increase in yields, which went up by 3.19 per cent. From 5,178 kg a hectare, it went up to 5,343 kg/ha.

“Of the total production, we estimate that the aggregate procurement would be about 45 lakh tonnes,” the official said.

The State expects a tally of 99 lakh tonnes for 2019-20 as against 67 lakh tonnes, a growth of 48 per cent.

Maize, which was grown in 14 lakh acres, showed an increase of 23 per cent at 26 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 against 21 lakh tonnes in the previous year.

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