Chhattisgarh's foodgrain output likely to decline by about 7.5% in 2019-20

Chhattisgarh’s output of foodgrains is likely to decline by about 7.5 per cent in 2019-20.

While the state has set a target of producing 9.3 million tonnes (MT) of foodgrains in 2019-20, in 2018-19, Chhattisgarh produced around 10.57 MT of foodgrains.

Paddy production is also expected to fall in the state that came in third after Punjab and Telangana in terms of contributing the highest share of rice to the central pool in 2018-19. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) produced 40.80 MT of rice in Chhattisgarh during the season.

The production of paddy in Chhattisgarh is likely to fall by about 9 per cent this year after the state set a target to produce 8.3 MT of paddy as against last year’s 9.4 MT.

The Congress-led government that came to power in the state in December last year had increased the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 2,500 per quintal and the move had led to a surge of paddy production in the state. Chhattisgarh one of the few states in the country that procure paddy from the farmers at MSP.

Officials said that the output was lowered as it increased drastically in 2018-19 following a drought in the previous year that severely affected the production. The state had increased the production of foodgrain by 39 per cent to a record 10.57 MT in 2018-19.

As against a target of 8.97 MT, the production of foodgrains was 7.630 MT last year, with 96 of the 149 tehsils in the state being declared drought-hit.