Major Food Crops of India

India is not just a land of diverse cultures—it’s also a land of diverse crops. Among these, food crops form the backbone of our agricultural landscape, dietary habits, and food security system. These are the crops that directly end up on our plates—grains, pulses, and tubers that keep over 1.4 billion people nourished, day after day.

But what makes a crop a major food crop? It’s not just about how much land it covers or how many tonnes it yields—it’s about its strategic importance to our economy, climate adaptability, nutritional value, and cultural relevance.

Major food crops of India include:

• Cereals like rice and wheat, which are staple foods across the country.
• Millets such as jowar, bajra, and ragi—once sidelined, now celebrated as “nutri-cereals”.
• Maize, which is both a food and industrial crop.
• Pulses, the primary source of protein in vegetarian diets.

Each crop tells a story—of geography, climate, tradition, and policy. For instance, rice reflects our monsoon dependence, wheat highlights the success of the Green Revolution, and millets symbolize sustainability in the era of climate change.

In the following sections, we will explore these major food crops individually—understanding where they grow, what they need, why they matter, and how they shape the agricultural and economic map of India. 

Exam Trick: If you can’t recall you can write:

• For type of Soil for any crop: write “well drained sandy to loamy soil”
• Temperature for Rabi: about 15 deg. C
• Temperature for Kharif: about 25 deg. C

Official Statistics for Major Food Crops of Indian States 2022-23

Source: Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2023

No need to memorise the following tables, just have a glance at it and try to analyse the major producers of the crop.

Rice production:

State	Area (Million Hectares)	% of All India Area	Production (Million Tonnes)	% of All India Production	Yield (Kg/Hectare)
Uttar Pradesh	5.90	12.33	16.14	11.89	2737
Telangana	4.66	9.75	15.88	11.70	3406
West Bengal	5.07	10.59	15.48	11.41	3057
Punjab	3.10	6.48	12.99	9.57	4193
Chhattisgarh	3.77	7.88	9.81	7.23	2602
Odisha	4.06	8.50	8.25	6.08	2030
Andhra Pradesh	2.13	4.45	7.94	5.84	3730
Tamil Nadu	2.16	4.51	7.56	5.57	3500
Bihar	2.86	5.99	7.17	5.27	2453
Madhya Pradesh	3.41	7.14	7.02	5.17	2057
All India	47.83	100.00	135.76	100.00	2838

Total Geographical Area of India: 328 million hectares. Therefore, total area under rice cultivation: 47.83/ 328 = 14.58%

Wheat Production:

State	Area (Million Hectares)	% of All India Area	Production (Million Tonnes)	% of All India Production	Yield (Kg/Hectare)
Uttar Pradesh	9.52	30.31	33.61	30.40	3531
Madhya Pradesh	7.15	22.77	22.73	20.56	3179
Punjab	3.53	11.26	16.78	15.18	4748
Haryana	2.32	7.40	10.93	9.89	4704
Rajasthan	2.79	8.90	10.64	9.62	3807
Bihar	2.20	7.00	6.51	5.89	2958
Gujarat	1.07	3.40	3.46	3.13	3248
Maharashtra	1.22	3.88	2.37	2.15	1948
Uttarakhand	0.29	0.91	0.83	0.75	2916
Himachal Pradesh	0.32	1.02	0.54	0.49	1853
All India	31.40	100.00	110.55	100.00	3521

Total Geographical Area of India: 328 million hectares. Therefore, total area under rice cultivation: 31.40/ 328 = 9.57%

Maize (Corn) production:

State	Area (Million Hectares)	% of All India Area	Production (Million Tonnes)	% of All India Production	Yield (Kg/Hectare)
Karnataka	1.91	17.80	5.91	15.52	3092
Madhya Pradesh	1.45	13.48	4.62	12.13	3191
Bihar	0.75	6.96	4.38	11.50	5854
Maharashtra	1.35	12.52	3.92	10.29	2913
Tamil Nadu	0.43	3.97	2.99	7.85	7007
Telangana	0.52	4.79	2.86	7.51	5557
Andhra Pradesh	0.39	3.59	2.76	7.23	7138
West Bengal	0.36	3.28	2.28	5.98	6285
Rajasthan	0.96	8.91	2.18	5.72	2277
Uttar Pradesh	0.89	8.29	1.95	5.13	2191
All India	10.74	100.00	38.09	100.00	3545

Jowar (Sorghum) production:

State	Area (Million Hectares)	% of All India Area	Production (Million Tonnes)	% of All India Production	Yield (Kg/Hectare)
Maharashtra	1.48	41.81	1.31	34.40	888
Karnataka	0.56	15.70	0.68	17.87	1228
Rajasthan	0.64	18.03	0.57	14.87	890
Uttar Pradesh	0.20	5.60	0.32	8.27	1593
Tamil Nadu	0.36	10.19	0.29	7.68	813
Andhra Pradesh	0.07	1.98	0.28	7.44	4054
Madhya Pradesh	0.10	2.74	0.17	4.44	1747
Telangana	0.07	1.92	0.12	3.13	1758
Gujarat	0.03	0.89	0.05	1.21	1460
Haryana	0.03	0.76	0.01	0.37	526
All India	3.53	100.00	3.81	100.00	107

Bajra (Pearl Millet) production:

State	Area (Million Hectares)	% of All India Area	Production (Million Tonnes)	% of All India Production	Yield (Kg/Hectare)
Rajasthan	4.57	60.36	5.11	44.66	1117
Uttar Pradesh	0.95	12.51	2.05	17.89	2160
Gujarat	0.50	6.63	1.29	11.32	2577
Haryana	0.53	6.95	1.20	10.50	2280
Madhya Pradesh	0.36	4.79	0.94	8.20	2599
Maharashtra	0.43	5.73	0.47	4.09	1079
Karnataka	0.13	1.69	0.18	1.55	1386
Tamil Nadu	0.05	0.60	0.11	0.99	2515
Andhra Pradesh	0.03	0.33	0.05	0.44	2027
Telangana	0.01	0.10	0.01	0.10	2952
All India	7.57	100.00	11.43	100.00	1510

Total Pulses production:

State	Area (Million Hectares)	% of All India Area	Production (Million Tonnes)	% of All India Production	Yield (Kg/Hectare)
Madhya Pradesh	5.62	19.45	6.27	24.05	1115
Maharashtra	4.99	17.28	4.64	17.79	928
Rajasthan	5.50	19.02	3.62	13.88	658
Uttar Pradesh	2.76	9.54	2.84	10.91	1031
Gujarat	1.31	4.53	1.79	6.88	1368
Karnataka	2.83	9.78	1.76	6.74	622
Andhra Pradesh	1.03	3.57	1.08	4.13	1042
Jharkhand	1.03	3.52	0.76	2.92	740
Tamil Nadu	0.79	2.74	0.50	1.91	636
Telangana	0.44	1.53	0.50	1.91	1122
All India	28.90	100.00	26.06	100.00	902

Gram (Chana) production:

State	Area (Million Hectares)	% of All India Area	Production (Million Tonnes)	% of All India Production	Yield (Kg/Hectare)
Maharashtra	2.96	28.23	3.17	25.88	1074
Madhya Pradesh	2.11	20.13	3.09	25.23	1468
Rajasthan	1.94	18.50	1.81	14.75	934
Gujarat	0.76	7.30	1.30	10.58	1699
Uttar Pradesh	0.68	6.49	0.74	5.99	1321
Karnataka	0.82	7.85	0.56	4.56	680
Andhra Pradesh	0.33	3.14	0.46	3.72	1388
Jharkhand	0.25	2.38	0.29	2.38	1122
Chhattisgarh	0.31	2.97	0.28	2.27	912
Telangana	0.15	1.41	0.23	1.86	1568
All India	10.47	100.00	12.27	100.00	1172

Lentil (Masur) production:

State	Area (Million Hectares)	% of All India Area	Production (Million Tonnes)	% of All India Production	Yield (Kg/Hectare)
Madhya Pradesh	0.66	40.02	0.64	40.81	971
Uttar Pradesh	0.54	33.24	0.52	33.16	950
West Bengal	0.16	9.59	0.15	9.67	960
Bihar	0.13	8.16	0.13	8.44	985
Jharkhand	0.06	3.63	0.05	3.01	835
Rajasthan	0.02	1.28	0.03	1.84	1375
Assam	0.02	1.53	0.02	1.28	799
Uttarakhand	0.01	0.67	0.01	0.67	925
Odisha	0.01	0.50	0.01	0.50	526
Chhattisgarh	0.01	0.77	0.01	0.34	401
All India	1.64	100.00	1.56	100.00	952

The concept of Advance Estimates:

Sometimes when you read data about the agriculture production and productivity, you will find something written that “based on advance estimates”. Let’s explore what this means:

In Indian agriculture statistics, Advance Estimates (AEs) are official projections made by the government about the area, production, and yield of various crops before the actual final harvest data is available. These estimates help in planning, procurement, pricing, and food security policies.

🧩 Stages of Crop Production Estimates in India:

1. First Advance Estimates (1st AE)
   🗓️ Released around September (for Kharif crops)
   👉 Based on early crop sowing data, rainfall, and satellite imagery.
2. Second Advance Estimates (2nd AE)
   🗓️ Released around February
   👉 Incorporates more up-to-date field reports, sowing status, weather conditions, and preliminary harvest data.
3. Third Advance Estimates (3rd AE)
   🗓️ Around May
   👉 Based on near-complete harvest data and validated by state agricultural departments.
4. Fourth Advance Estimates (4th AE)
   🗓️ Around July-August
   👉 Almost final, with complete field data, but still subject to revision.
5. Final Estimates
   🗓️ Released after thorough verification.
   👉 Used for official record-keeping and long-term analysis.