Foodgrain production to hit record high in 2020-21
The country is likely to achieve an all-time high foodgrains production of over 297 million tonnes in 2020-21, the fifth consecutive year of record production, as per the government’s second advance estimate, which is to be released soon.
This will be slightly more than the fourth advance estimate of 2019-20, which is at over 296 million tonnes.
However, the estimated production is short of 301 million tonnes of food grains production targeted for 2020-21.
20 projects worth Rs 363.4 crore sanctioned for infrastructure and expansion of food processing
Twenty projects leveraging an investment of Rs 363.40 crore supported with a grant of Rs 102.81 crore under the scheme for creation for infrastructure for agro-processing cluster (APC) and the scheme for creation and expansion of food processing and preservation capacities (CEFPPC) under pradhan mantri kisan sampada yojana (PMKSY) were sanctioned by the Inter Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) chaired by Food Processing minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
The projects are likely to generate employment for nearly 11,960 people and benefit 42,800 farmers.
Off-season rains boost chana’s prospects
Prices see an uptick in futures; trade rules out crop loss fears
Chana is set to see a pick up in demand even as tur is witnessing a rally on reports of a lower crop. Also factors such as unseasonal rains and hailstorms lashing part of Eastern Madhya Pradesh are affecting the ready-to-harvest crop, although trade sources said the impact could be limited in some regions.
The Agriculture Ministry expects the chana crop to be about 11.5 million tonnes (mt) for 2020-21 season (July-June). However, millers estimate the crop to be between nine mt and 9.5 mt, marginally lower than last year’s 9.5 mt.
