The New Nation - Internet Edition

Shamim Jahangir

About 358.27 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat and 225.58 lakh tonnes of non-serial food items such as maize, potato, vegetables and pulses were produced in the country in the 2007-8 fiscal, according to Agriculture Ministry sources.

Rice and wheat were cultivated on 119.05 lakh hectares of land and non-serial food items on 29.41 hectares during the period under review.

The production of rice and wheat surpassed the target by 22.47 lakh tonnes while the non-serial items by 29.41 lakh tonnes, sources added.

The production of rice was 348.91 lakh tonnes against the target of 327.60 lakh tonnes.

About 9.56 lakh tonnes of wheat were producing whereas the target was 8.40 lakh tonnes. The production of maize rose to 23.61 lakh tonnes from the 13.14 lakh tonnes. It was cultivating on 2.30 lakh hectares of land.

The production of potato was 92.37 lakh tonnes exceeding the target by 21.37 lakh tonnes.

The production of vegetables was 89.10 lakh tonnes as it surpassing the target by 8.10 lakh tonnes.

Mustard seeds production was 5.52 lakh tonnes from the 5.57 lakh hectors of lands, peanut 2.50 lakh tonnes from 0.85 lakh hectares, pulse 5.52 lakh tonnes and lentil 2.25 lakh metric tonnes.

A high official of the Agricultural Ministry told the New Nation that the farmers of the country have achieved the target set by the government through their hard labour.

Favourable weather also helped for the better production of crops, he added.