Review of Crop Statistics System 2025

Source: PIB

Why in News?

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the “Review of Crop Statistics System” report, highlighting major gaps in India’s agricultural data collection system. The report flagged delays in crop surveys, outdated village maps, and shortage of trained personnel for crop-cutting experiments (CCEs).

What is the Review of Crop Statistics System?

Feature	Details
Report	Review of Crop Statistics System
Released By	Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
Purpose	Assess the quality, accuracy and timeliness of agricultural statistics in India
Importance	Supports crop production estimates and food security decisions

Why is Agricultural Data Important?

• Used by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) to estimate cultivation costs.
• Forms the basis for Advance Estimates of Crop Production.
• Helps the government decide:
  • Export restrictions
  • Import duty changes
  • Release of buffer stocks
  • Food inflation management
  • Procurement planning

Major Findings of the Report

1. Delay in Girdawari

Season	Sample Villages Completed on Time
Early Kharif	43%
Late Kharif	46%
Rabi	48%
Summer	33%

States with alarmingly high delays:

• Andhra Pradesh
• Assam
• Bihar
• Gujarat
• Haryana
• Jharkhand
• Karnataka
• Maharashtra
• Punjab
• Telangana
• Uttar Pradesh
• West Bengal

2. Outdated Village Maps

Finding	Details
Village maps older than 20 years	63%
Impact	Difficulty in identifying updated land boundaries and crop areas

States with highest outdated maps

State/UT	Maps Older than 20 Years
West Bengal	100%
Puducherry	100%
Odisha	99%
Uttarakhand	98%
Assam	94%
Tamil Nadu	93%
Jharkhand	93%
Gujarat	5%

Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs)

Feature	Details
Estimated CCEs (2023–24)	Around 1.2 million
Issue	Many CCEs conducted by untrained staff

States with major issues

• Jharkhand: Around 40% CCEs by untrained personnel.
• Uttar Pradesh: Around 40% CCEs by untrained personnel.
• Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal: More than 10% CCEs conducted by junior staff.

What is Girdawari?

Feature	Details
Meaning	Official field inspection to record crops grown on agricultural land.
Conducted By	Village Revenue Officer/Patwari
Purpose	Collect crop acreage data for agricultural statistics and production estimates.

What are Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs)?

Feature	Details
Meaning	Scientific field experiments used to estimate crop yield.
Purpose	Determine average yield for calculating total crop production.
Used In	Crop production estimates, crop insurance and policy decisions.

Role of CACP

Feature	Details
Full Form	Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)
Ministry	Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare
Role	Recommends Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) based on production costs and other factors.

Key Terms

Term	Meaning
Advance Estimates	Preliminary estimates of crop production released before harvest completion.
Buffer Stock	Government food grain reserve maintained for food security and price stabilization.
CACP	Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, which recommends MSPs.