Govt pegs FY''11 farm growth at 5.4 pc

New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) Buoyed by high foodgrainsproduction, the country''s farm sector is expected to grow at5.4 per cent in the current financial year, as against 0.4 percent a year ago.

A likely growth in the "agriculture, forestry andfishing sector" is due to an estimated higher production ofrice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane and somehorticultural crops, according to Advance Estimate released bythe Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).

The foodgrains production is estimated to grow by 6.5per cent, oilseeds by 11.9 per cent, sugarcane by 15.2 percent and cotton output by 41.2 per cent in the 2010-11 cropyear, as compared to a previous crop year, it said.

Among the horticultural crops, production of fruitsand vegetables is expected to increase by 4.1 per cent and 3.8per cent, respectively, in the review period, it added.

According to CSO, the country''s economy is likely growat 8.6 per cent this fiscal, against 8 per cent last year.

The Agriculture Ministry has pegged a total foodgrainsproduction at 114.63 million tonnes in the 2010-11 Kharifseason (June-September), which comprises 80.41 million tonnesof rice.

Oilseeds production for current Kharif season has beenprojected at 17.2 million tonnes.

Farm commodities are cultivated twice a year duringKharif (summer) and Rabi (winter) season. Currently, rabicrops like wheat and some oilseeds like mustard are sown.

The ministry has pegged sugarcane at 324.9 milliontonnes and cotton at 33.5 million bales for the current cropyear.