India may miss the rice output target set for 2010-11 (Jul-Jun) due to drought in some districts of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, a senior official of agriculture ministry said Friday.
The government has set an output target of 100 million tonnes for the current year compared with last year?s output of 89.13 million tonne. During 2008-09 India produced a record 99.18 million tonnes of rice.
For 2010-11 the government has set an acreage target of 40.6 million hectare.
?Though drought situation is limited only to a few districts it will definitely impact the overall rice output,? the official said.But output will be higher compared with last year while it may be lower than 2008-09 production, the official added.
So far, 28 districts in Bihar, 16 in Jharkhand and 11 in West Bengal have been declared as drought hit by the respective state governments. ?Also, 5 districts of Orissa and some parts of the eastern Uttar Pradesh received less rain and facing drought like conditions,? the official said.
Districts of Bihar and Jharkhand have lower productivity but yield is high in drought-affected districts of West Bengal. Also, scanty rains in Orissa and eastern Uttar Pradesh may impact the output, he said. Rice acreage during the kharif season until Friday was up 7.5% on year at 29.75 million hectare, data from Directorate of Rice Development said.