Agriculture is one of the few bright spots in an economy ravaged by COVID-19, with good rains expected to improve production and incomes, especially in the paddy crop. Nevertheless, economists said that individual farmers are unlikely to see much improvement in their income. The rise in COVID-19 cases in rural India is another cause of concern. Presenting their outlook for the Kharif or summer crop season on Monday, Crisil rating agency economists predicted a 3-5 per cent rise in farm gate income this year. Crisil ‘s national profit prediction is primarily focused on regular monsoons driving yield growth of 3 per cent, calculated by tons per hectare, especially in sugar cane, groundnut, soybean and paddy. Nevertheless, reverse migration due to COVID-19 could have led, according to data from the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, to a rise in the number of people working in the agriculture sector this summer by up to 16 per cent over the overall farm jobs of last year. Overproduction and lower demand, however, would force down prices for most crops save for paddy and most coarse cereals.
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