Mumbai: Agricultural production in the country is likely to rise by 2.6 per cent in FY 08 as against the meagre 0.9 per cent growth registered in fiscal 2007, the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy (CMIE) said in its monthly review of the Indian economy.

However, CMIE projected food grain production growing by a marginal 0.9 per cent to 214-million tonnes in FY 08 as compared to 211.8-million tonnes in FY 07. This is despite the initial slowdown in sowing due to lower than expected rainfall in June 2007.

CMIE attributes the higher growth in farm production to a recovery in oilseeds production during the year. Oilseed production during the year is projected at 26.9-million tonnes, up by 16 per cent from the 23.3-million tonnes produced in FY 07.

Rice production in FY 08 is projected to record a marginal 0.2 per cent increase over last year''s 91-million tonnes while wheat production is projected to go up to 74.2-million tonnes.

Khariff sowing has already begun in several states and the area under food grains, oil seeds, cotton and sugarcane till June this year added up to 127.6- lakh hectares.

This, however, is nine per cent lower than the 140.5-lakh hectares sown during the same month a year ago. The slow pace of sowing is attributed to the poor progress of monsoon in the early weeks of June.

By the first week of July, monsoon covered the entire country and to date, total rainfall was 20 per cent above LPA and 27 per cent higher than the rainfall in the same period of FY ''06. The pace of sowing is expected to accelerate in July.

Till June 2007, sawing of all crops except cotton was lower than the year-ago level. Cereal sawing covered 55.3 lakh hectares as of June 28 as against 63.8 lakh hectares sown a year ago. Area sown of all cereal crops was down.

Rice was sown over an area of 31.6 lakh hectares as of June 28, against 34.3 lakh hectares covered during the year-ago period.

Oilseeds sowing was also down till June 27 as compared to a year-ago level. Sowin of groundnut and soyabean crops was also lower. Groundnut covered 6 lakh hectares as of June 29 as compared to 8.2-lakh hectares during the same period last year.

Groundnut sowing failed to pick up in Gujarat due to poor rain in the early weeks of monsoon and the heavy rains that followed. Till June, area sown under groundnuts in Gujarat was a mere 1.91 lakh hectares as against 4.38 lakh hectares during the same period a year ago.