Everyone, common and special, is troubled by the witch of inflation . Retail inflation once again jumped to 5.49% in the month of September due to the cost of food items. The burden of increased inflation is going to fall on the public even in the festive season. However, there is a good news in the meantime. This time record wheat and pulses production is expected in the Rabi season 2024-25. Experts say that this will reduce inflation. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that despite the delay in import consignment due to geopolitical tensions, there is adequate availability of major fertilizers like urea and di ammonium phosphate (DAP). Chouhan said, there is a delay in import consignment. However, there is no shortage of fertilizers. We have made arrangements and there is adequate supply for the Rabi season. The ministry has set a target of 164.55 lakh tonnes of foodgrains production for the Rabi season 2024-25, which includes 115 lakh tonnes of wheat and 18.15 lakh tonnes of pulses. Sowing of Rabi (winter) crops has begun and it will gain momentum after Diwali. 

Record production is expected this time due to better monsoon

Fertilizer Secretary Rajat Kumar Mishra said India is rerouting DAP shipments from Morocco via South Africa after the Red Sea route was disrupted, adding 21 days to supply time to western ports. Mishra said India imports about 60 per cent of its 55 lakh tonne DAP demand for the rabi season from Russia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and China. 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, record production is expected in the rabi season this year," he said. Pathak advocated adoption of climate-friendly and bio-fortified seeds. He highlighted that last year, about 70 per cent of wheat cultivation used such varieties, which contributed significantly to the bumper crop. 

Crop survey will be implemented across the country next year

Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi stressed the need to increase area under gram cultivation. He said production remained low in the last 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 Union Ministers of State for Agriculture Ram Nath Thakur and Bhagirath Chaudhary along with six state agriculture ministers. The officials also discussed digital initiatives including farmer data registration, with crop surveys currently underway in two states set to be rolled out across the country next year.