Govt eyes record rabi output, says fertiliser supply adequate despite Red Sea crisis

The Centre on Saturday said it was confident of achieving record foodgrain production in the 2024-25 rabi season despite fertiliser shipment delays, citing favourable soil moisture conditions and adequate water levels in reservoirs.

Speaking at a national conference here, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said there was sufficient availability of key fertilisers such as urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) despite delay in shipments due to geopolitical tensions.

"The shipments are delayed... However, there is no shortage of fertilisers. We have made arrangements and there is enough supply for the rabi season," Chouhan said.

The ministry has set a foodgrain production target of 164.55 lakh tonne for the 2024-25 rabi season, including 115 lakh tonne of wheat and 18.15 lakh tonne of pulses.

Sowing of rabi (winter) crops has started and will pick up pace post-Diwali.

Fertiliser Secretary Rajat Kumar Mishra said India is re-routing DAP shipments from Morocco via South Africa after Red Sea routes were disrupted, adding 21 days to delivery times to western ports.

India imports about 60 per cent of its 5.5 million tonnes of DAP demand for the rabi season from Russia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and China, Mishra said.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General Himanshu Pathak expressed optimism about the upcoming season.

"Looking at the water level in reservoirs, IMD forecast and soil moisture, a record production is expected in the rabi season of this year," he said.

Pathak advocated for the adoption of climate-resilient and bio-fortified seeds, highlighting that about 70 per cent of wheat cultivation last year utilised such varieties, which significantly contributed to a bumper crop.

Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi emphasised the need to increase area under gram cultivation, noting that production remained lower in the past two years, necessitating imports.

The average area under rabi crops in the last five years was 668 lakh hectares, with wheat accounting for 312 lakh hectares, officials said.

The government has announced higher minimum support prices for wheat and other winter-sown crops to encourage planting.

The conference was attended by six state agriculture ministers, along with Union Ministers of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur and Bhagirath Choudhary.

Officials also discussed digital initiatives, including farmer data registration, with crop surveys currently underway in two states set to be implemented nationwide next year.