GUWAHATI, Dec 1 � Assam is close to becoming the second State in the country in matters of productivity of rice in 2009-10. Almost all the formalities are complete now and only a formal announcement from the Union Government is awaited in this respect.
The projected productivity rate of the State in this respect is 7.4 per cent against the 16 per cent of Tamil Nadu and 3 per cent of Orissa over the 2008-09 rates. If the production and productivity of all agri-horticultural crops grown in the State between 2007-08 and 2009-10 are taken into account, it is observed that the State is able to achieve 21 per cent increase in production and 13 per cent increase in productivity in 2009-10 over the 2007-08.
Meanwhile, the State has fixed 46 lakh MTs as its target for rice production in 2010-11, said State's Agriculture Minister Pramila Rani Brahma while talking to this correspondent here today.
In 2009-10, the State was able to produce about five lakh metric tones (MTs) of rice more compared to what it could produce in 2001-02. The total rice produced by the State in 2001-02 was 38.54 lakh MTs. And, as per the provisional data prepared by the State's Directorate of Economics and Statistics jointly with the Department of Agriculture and Co-operation, the State is producing 43.36 lakh MTs of rice in 2009-10.
The rate of agricultural growth of the State at the end of the Tenth Five Year Plan was minus 0.27 per cent. In 2007-08, it shot up to 0.23 per cent, while in 2008-09 it further grew to 1.20 per cent and in 2009-10 it is anticipated that it may go beyond 2 per cent.
In 2008-09, the State could occupy the ninth position among the rice producing States of the country, producing 40.70 lakh MTs of rice in total. In that year, the State could bring seven per cent more land under rice cultivation compared to 2007-08, said the Minister.
The State could produce 33.20 lakh MTs of rice in 2007-08 with an area of 23.24 lakh hectares of land under paddy cultivation, while with 24.84 lakh hectares of land under paddy cultivation, it could produce 40.70 lakh MTs of rice in 2008-09, said the Minister.
The Union Government in 2008-09, recognized Assam as the best performing State amongst the seven eastern zone states, which include West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Assam, for its encouraging progress in production and productivity of rice under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM).
Significantly, the area under rice cultivation in West Bengal (59.40 lakh hectares), Orissa (44.50 lakh hectares), Bihar (35 lakh hectares), Uttar Pradesh (60.30 lakh hectares) and Chattisgarh (37.30 lakh hectares) are much compared to Assam, the Minister said.
The performance of the State Government on Assam Agricultural Competitiveness Project (AACP) was hailed by the World Bank recently, she said.
