The average annual growth rate of the agriculture sector in the last five years was 4.18 percent.
22-Jul-2024 06:41 PM
New Delhi. The Economic Survey for the financial year 2023-24 presented by the Union Finance Ministry in Parliament today said that the average annual growth rate of the agriculture sector was recorded at 4.18 percent during the last five years.
The Finance Minister said that there is now a dire need to turn small farmers towards high value agricultural products so that their income can be increased.
According to the Economic Survey, the total production area of oilseed crops in the country was 256 lakh hectares in 2014-15, which jumped 17.5 percent to 300.80 lakh hectares by the year 2023-24. Increasing the investment of the private sector in the agriculture sector has become extremely necessary and important because with its help this sector can be made dynamic.
The Economic Survey states that when the income of small, marginal and medium class farmers increases, there will be more demand for manufactured goods and thus the FMCG sector will grow and expand rapidly.
The agriculture sector provides livelihood to about 42.3 percent of the country's population and at the current price level, the contribution of the agriculture sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is around 18.2 percent.
The agriculture sector is moving forward continuously and its growth rate remains good. Investment in agricultural research has contributed significantly in ensuring food security. A huge amount was spent on agricultural research in the financial year 2022-23.
According to the Economic Survey, food grain production in the country reached 3107 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 but is estimated to fall slightly to 3289 lakh tonnes in 2023-24.
In the 2022-23 season, food grain production jumped to an all-time high of 329.7 million tonnes and oilseed loss reached a new record level of 41.4 million tonnes. In 2023-24, due to weak and delayed monsoon, food grain production declined slightly to 328.8 million tonnes.
Availability of edible oils from indigenous sources increased from 86.30 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 to 121.33 lakh tonnes in 2023-24.
The government is paying special attention to increasing the production of pulses and oilseeds.