Trends in the Production of Cereals in MP

Among the food grains, cereals contribute 77.5 per cent and pulses contribute 22.5 per cent in the state. The main cereals are rice, wheat, maize, bajra, barley, jowar and small millets. Madhya Pradesh has about 5 per cent share in the country in the production of cereals, with its production of 83.7 lakh tones. The production of the cereals is increasing continuously in the state since 1951. It has recorded nearly four times increase between 1950-51 and 2002-03, from 21.3 lakh tons to 83.7 lakh tones during the period Wheat ranks first in terms of production (49.23 lakh tones, 59 %) which is also the main crop of Madhya Pradesh. Maize comes second (14.9 lakh tons, 17.8 % and rice third (10.32 lakh tons, 12.32 %) in terms of production. Other important cereals are jowar, barley and small millets, their production was about 9.24 lakh tones, and their share in the cereals was about 11 per cent, in the year 2002-03.