Delhi Delhi. The Center on Saturday said it is confident of achieving record foodgrain production in the 2024-25 Rabi season despite delays in fertilizer shipments, given favorable soil moisture conditions and adequate water levels in reservoirs. Speaking at a national conference here Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said there is adequate availability of key fertilizers like urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) despite delays in shipments due to geopolitical tensions.
“The shipments are getting delayed… However, there is no shortage of fertilizers. We have made arrangements and there is adequate supply for the Rabi season,” Chouhan said. The ministry has approved 164.55 lakh tonnes of food grains for the 2024-25 Rabi season. The production target has been set, which includes 115 lakh tonnes of wheat and 18.15 lakh tonnes of pulses. Sowing of Rabi (winter) crops has started and it will accelerate after Diwali. Fertilizer Secretary Rajat Kumar Mishra said that the Red Sea Route India is rerouting DAP shipments from Morocco via South Africa after the disruption, adding 21 days to delivery time to western ports. Mishra said India imports about 60 per cent of its 5.5 million tonne DAP demand for the Rabi season from Russia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and China. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General Himanshu Pathak expressed optimism about the upcoming season. “Considering the water level in the reservoirs, IMD forecast and soil moisture, record production is expected in the Rabi season this year,” he said.
Pathak advocated for the adoption of climate-friendly and bio-fortified seeds, highlighting that about 70 per cent of such varieties were used in wheat cultivation last year, which significantly contributed to the bumper crop. Emphasizing on the need to increase the area under gram cultivation, Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi said that production has been low in the last two years, due to which there is a need for imports. Officials said the average area under Rabi crops in the last five years was 668 lakh hectares, of which wheat accounted for 312 lakh hectares. The government has announced higher minimum support prices for wheat and other winter-sown crops to encourage planting. Agriculture ministers of six states as well as Union ministers of state for agriculture Ramnath Thakur and Bhagirath Choudhary participated in the conference. The officials also discussed digital initiatives including farmer data registration and crop surveys currently underway in two states, which will be rolled out across the country next year.
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