(a) whether the production of rice has increased during the Ninth Five Year Plan in the
country;
(b) if so, the details thereof, year-wise/State-wise; and
(c) the effective measures proposed to be taken by the Government to increase the
production of rice in different parts of the country during the Tenth Five Year Plan?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE (SHRI HUKUMDEO NARAYAN YADAV)
(a): Yes, Sir. The production of rice in the country has increased during the Ninth Five Year
Plan.
(b): The year-wise/State-wise estimates of production of rice during the Ninth Five Plan are
given in the Annexure.
(c): The Government are implementing the Integrated Cereals Development Programme in
Rice Based Cropping Systems Areas (ICDP-Rice) for improving production and productivity of
rice in the country. Since October 2000, this scheme has been subsumed under the Macro
Management Scheme which gives flexibility to States to address specific problems faced by
them depending on local requirements and agro-climatic conditions. This regionally
differentiated strategy adopted during the Ninth Five Year Plan would be continued during the
Tenth Five Year Plan. As a new initiative, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme `On Farm Water
Management for Increasing Crop Production in Eastern India` has been launched in March 2002
for the year 2001-02 and the Tenth Five Year Plan. The objective of the scheme is to exploit
ground/surface water, efficient water utilization and management for increasing crop production
in eastern India. Apart from these, the Government have launched various other initiatives such
as emphasis on developing and promoting new technologies, measures for increasing availability
of agricultural credit, Market Information Network, National Agriculture Insurance Scheme etc.
Besides, the Government also encourage farmers to increase production through price policy
which includes implementation of Minimum Support Price, procurement by public agencies etc.