Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has been released first Advance Estimates of production of major Autumn crops for 2023-24. The estimation of crop production relies on data provided by States and is subsequently validated using information from various alternative sources. These sources include reports from the Crop Weather Watch Group (CWWG), Remote Sensing estimates, estimates based on econometric modeling, inputs collected from farmer surveys, and historical trends in crop estimation.

As per First Advance Estimates, the estimated production of major Autumn crops for 2023-24 is as under:

- Foodgrains  –148,569,000 Metric Tonnes (MT)

• Rice  –106,313,000 Metric Tonnes
• Maize  – 22,482,000  Metric Tonnes
• Pigeon pea  –3,421,000 Metric Tonnes
• Mung bean – 1,405,000  Metric Tonnes
• Black bean – 1,505,000 Metric Tonnes

- Oilseeds  –21,533,000 Metric Tonnes

• Groundnut  –7,829,000 Metric Tonnes
• Soybean  –11,528,000 Metric Tonnes

- Sugarcane – 434,793,000 Metric Tonnes

- Cotton  – 31,657,000 bales (of 170 kg each)

- Jute & Kenaf –9,191,000 bales (of 180 kg each)     

Area under rice which is the major Autumn crop is estimated to be higher by around 200,000 hectare over previous year final estimate and by around 450,000 hectare over average rice area. Its production is also estimated to be higher by about 100,000 tonnes as compared to average autumn rice production.

Other cereal crops area such as sorghum and grain sorghum is also estimated to be higher as compared to previous year as well as average area under these crops. Sorghum production is estimated at 22,482,000 Metric Tonnes as compared to average production of 21,351,000 Metric Tonnes registering an increase of about 11,000 Metric Tonnes.

For 2023-24, production of Autumn nutritive coarse cereals is estimated at 35,137,000 MT which is slightly higher than the average coarse cereals production of 35,091,000 MT. The production of Shree Anna (millets) is estimated at 12,655,000 MT during 2023-24.

The production of Pigeon Pea is estimated at 3,421,000 MT, which is approximately similar to the last year’s production. Further, the area under Black bean is estimated at 3,073,000 hectares which is approximately similar to the last year’s area of 3,098,000 hectares. However, total Autum pulses production for 2023-24 is estimated to be lower than previous year due to climatic conditions. Total Autumn pulses production during 2023-24 is estimated at 7,118,000 MT.

Total production of sugarcane is estimated at 434,793,000 MT which is higher than average sugarcane production of 422,255,000 MT.

It's important to note that this first Production assessment for 2023-24 (Autumn) is largely based on the average yield of last 3 years and may undergo change after receiving the yield estimates based on actual crop cutting experiments.