Sukirti, a voracious reader of fiction, who also has an avidity to give her thoughts the shape of words, is a graduate in agriculture. Apart from being a devotee of words, she loves to express herself through dance. She enjoys writing about environmental issues such as climate change and sustainable agriculture.

Farming,Social |
September 9, 2021

According to the latest numbers used to calculate India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Indian agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries have continued to defy the slowdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Business Standard

Facts And Figures

  • Agriculture’s gross value added (GVA) increased by 4.5 percent in April-June FY22 compared to FY21.The sector grew by 3.5 percent year over year in April-June FY21.
  • Among the eight sectors used to calculate India’s GDP, agriculture was the only one to expand in April-June FY21.
  • When compared to FY21, the entire Indian GVA at base price increased by 18.8% in April-June FY22.
  • In absolute terms, the agriculture sector added Rs 21,012 crore in the first three months of the fiscal year.

While the Indian economy grew by 20.1 percent in April-June 2021, according to the National Statistical Office’s first-quarter estimates, the increase was largely due to the comparison with GDP numbers from April-June 2020, when the country was under a nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite an 8.2% increase in GVA by the agriculture sector in Apr-Jun FY22 compared to Apr-Jun FY20, India’s overall GVA dropped 7.8% in Apr-Jun FY22.

Source: BloomsbergQuint

The early arrival of monsoon rains in central and northern India this year aided farmers in speeding up the seeding of summer-sown crops like paddy rice, cotton, soybeans, and pulses, as well as increasing crop yields. According to several economists and rating agencies, the Indian farm industry saw record cereal procurement, high food prices, and employment support initiatives.

In a news statement, Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA, said, “GVA growth in Q1 FY2022 was higher than our projection of 17.0 percent, supported by the robust rabi harvest and somewhat better than expected performance of manufacturing, mining, and construction.”

Despite state-by-state lockdowns enacted across India in April and May to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic’s second wave, the Indian agriculture sector grew. The Rabi season harvests coincided with the state-wide lockdowns.

Given the disruption in supply chains and the resulting impact on farmer income, the latest GDP statistic for agriculture is promising.

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