India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has released the first advance estimates of production of major agricultural crops for the monsoon or Kharif crop, for the year 2024-25. These estimates have been prepared primarily on the basis of information received from the states.

The crop area received from the states has been validated and triangulated with information received from remote sensing, weekly crop weather monitoring group and other agencies. Further, DA&FW took the initiative to consult stakeholders with industry representatives and other government departments to receive their opinions, views and sentiments for the current kharif season. These have also been taken into account while finalizing the estimates.

For the first time, data from the Digital Crop Survey (DCS) being conducted under the Digital Agriculture Mission in collaboration with state governments, has been used to prepare area estimates. This survey, which is expected to replace the manual system, is an important step towards arriving at robust estimates of area under cultivation. DCS-based estimate of area under cultivation has been made for the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha, where 100% of the districts are covered under DCS in Kharif 2024. This has led to a substantial increase in area under paddy, especially in Uttar Pradesh.

According to the first advance estimates, the total Kharif cereal production for 2024-25 is estimated at 164.705 million metric tonnes, which is an increase of 8.937 million tonnes compared to the previous year’s Kharif cereal production and 12.459 million tonnes higher than the average Kharif cereal production. Kharif cereal production has seen a record increase due to good production of paddy, sorghum and maize.

The total production of Kharif rice during 2024-25 is estimated to be 119.934 million tonnes, which is 6.675 million tonnes higher than the previous year's Kharif rice production and 11.483 million tonnes higher than the average Kharif rice production. The production of Kharif maize is estimated at 24.541 million tonnes and that of Kharif whole grains/nutritional grains is estimated at 37.818 million tonnes. In addition, the total production of Kharif pulses during 2024-25 is estimated to be 6.954 million tonnes.

The total production of Kharif oilseeds in the country during 2024-25 is estimated to be 25.745 million tonnes, which is 1.583 million tonnes higher than the total production of Kharif oilseeds in the previous year. Kharif groundnut production for 2024-25 is estimated at 10.36 billion tonnes and soybean production is estimated at 13.36 billion tonnes.

Sugarcane production in the country during 2024-25 is estimated at 439.93 billion tonnes. Cotton production is estimated at 29.926 billion bags (of 170 kg each). Jute and mesta production is estimated at 8.456 billion bags (of 180 kg each).

Total foodgrains in monsoon harvest: 164.705 million tonnes (record)

Rice: 119.934 million tonnes (record)

Maize: 24.541 million tonnes (record)

Nutri/Coarse grains: 37.818 million tonnes

Total pulses: 6.954 million tonnes

Tur: 3.502 million tonnes

Urad: 1.209 million tonnes

Moong: 1.383 million tonnes

Total oilseeds: 25.745 million tonnes

Groundnut: 10.360 million tonnes

Soybean: 13.360 million tonnes

Sugarcane: 439.930 million tonnes

Cotton: 29.926 million bags (170 Kgs. each)

Jute and Mesta: 8.456 million bags (180 kg each)

Crop yield estimates are based primarily on normal/trend yield, along with other field-level data and expectations. This yield will be revised based on receipt of actual yield as determined by conducting crop cutting experiments (CCE) at harvest time, which in turn will be reflected in subsequent production estimates.