Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2021

Citing data from the office of the Registrar General of India, the report notes that of the total population of India in 2011 (1210.9 million), 263.1 million were agricultural workers. Of these, 118.8 million people were cultivators and 144.3 million were agricultural labourers.

The report notes that in 2011 the number of female cultivators in India was around 36.04 million of which more than 35 million lived in rural areas. At the same time, female agricultural labourers in the country numbered 61.59 million. Of these, more than 59 million were from rural areas.

For the year 2020-2021, the gross value added (GVA) by agriculture, forestry and fishing was an estimated Rs. 3,609,494 crores, at current basic prices. Of the overall value, crops added the most at Rs. 1,997,147 crores followed by livestock at Rs. 1,114,249 crores.

As per 2020-21 estimates from the National Statistical Office, Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest gross state value added (at current basic prices) in the agriculture and allied sectors – Rs. 40,980,027 lakhs. On the other hand, Puducherry with Rs. 165,178 lakhs recorded the lowest estimated gross state value added in the sector.

According to the normal estimates or average values for the period of 2015-16 to 2019-20, the total area under foodgrain cultivation in India measured 126.22 million hectares. The total production of foodgrains was an estimated 278.79 million tonnes with a yield of 2,209 kilograms per hectare.

The total area under sugarcane during 2015-16 to 2019-20 was estimated to be around 4.75 million hectares with average production of 362.07 million tonnes. The area under cotton cultivation measured about 12.36 million hectares with estimated average production being 31.9 million bales of 170 kilos each.

In the year 2020-21, India’s annual agricultural imports were around Rs. 154,510.72 crores. The country’s agricultural exports in the same year were valued at Rs. 308,830 crores. Of the total national imports, agricultural imports made up 5.3 per cent, while agricultural exports were 14.3 per cent of the overall national exports.

Data from the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices shows that the average cost of production for paddy in 2021-22 stood at Rs. 1,293 per quintal. In the same period, the average cost of production was Rs. 1,008 for wheat, Rs. 2,251 for ragi and Rs. 4,850 for moong. The cost of production here includes expenses in cash and kind, rent paid on leased land as well as the ‘family labour’ calculated according to statutory or actual market wage rate, whichever is higher.

The minimum support price (MSP) for paddy in 2021-22 was Rs. 1,940 per quintal. For a quintal of wheat, the MSP was Rs. 2,015. As per the report, the MSP for ragi and moong in 2021-22 was Rs. 3,377 and Rs. 7,275 per quintal, respectively.

The report notes that in 2020-21, the total consumption of nitrogenous, phosphatic and potassic fertilizers in India amounted to 325.36 lakh tonnes, a steep rise from the 293.69 lakh tonnes recorded in 2019-20. The country produced 184.54 lakh tonnes of nitrogenous and phosphatic fertilizers in 2020-21. Government imports of such fertilizers measured 108.46 lakh tonnes in the same year.

According to data from the Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power, Government of India, the total consumption of electricity for agricultural purposes measured 211,295 gigawatt hours in 2019-20. This amounted to 20.08 per cent of the total consumption of electricity in India that year.

In 2018-19, the total gross cropped area or gross area sown measured an estimated 2,002.03 lakh hectares, of which only 519.25 lakh hectares (25.94 per cent) was insured, the report notes.

Citing the Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India: NSS 77th Round(January-December 2019), the report states that during the period of July 2018 to June 2019, agricultural households in India numbered around 93.094 million. Of these about 46.719 million had taken some or other form of loan. The report also notes that during this period the average monthly income of a single agricultural household was only Rs. 10,218.

Focus and Factoids by Anushka Mukherjee.