Lok Sabha Question No. 2616 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-19
Subject: Chilli Production
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Srinivas Kesineni

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-2616

TO BE ANSWERED ON 19 TH  DECEMBER, 2023

## CHILLI PRODUCTION

2616 . SHRI KESINENI SRINIVAS:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष और िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the production of chilli in the country during the last four years, yearwise and State-wise;

(b) whether the Government has assessed the impact of pest/insect attacks and erratic rainfall on the quantity and quality of chilli harvest during the last four years;

(c) if so, the details of the findings of such assessment, especially in Andhra Pradesh;

(d) whether the Government is considering the creation of a separate Chilli Board in Andhra Pradesh to  help  chilli  farmers  in  improving  the  cultivation,  processing  and marketing of their produce; and

(e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष और िकसान कʞाण मंũी (SHRI ARJUN MUNDA)

(a) The details of State-wise production of Chilli in the country during the last four years are given in Annexure-1.

(b) & (c) In 2021-22 crop season, the Chilli crop was affected by a new invasive thrips species and its infestation caused significant damage to the crop, bringing down the Chilli production at national level from 20.49 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 to 18.36 lakh tonnes in 2021-22. The infestation was severe in the State of Andhra Pradesh, where the production had gone down to 4.18 lakh tonnes in 2021-22 from 7.97 lakh tonnes recorded previous year. The productivity of Chilli in Andhra Pradesh plummeted to 1.86 tonnes/ha in 2021-22 from an average annual productivity of 4 to 5 tonnes/ha.

The Directorate  of  Plant  Protection,  Quarantine  and  Storage  (DPPQ&S)  under the Department  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  constituted  an  Expert  Committee  in December 2021 for conducting survey and assessment of Thrips infestation on Chilli crop in Andhra Pradesh. As per the assessment of the Expert Committee, the following factors were the possible reasons for the thrips infestation:

-  Invasive  pest  thrips  specis -  Since  Thrips  parvispinus  is  an  invasive  pest species; it might have dominated/replaced the native chilli thrips.
-  Favourable climatic conditions for pest establishment and multiplication, led by unusually intensive North-East Monsoon rains. Hot and humid conditions that further aggravated the thrips incidence on chilli
-  Lack of natural enemies
-  Excessive/ Indiscriminate spraying of chemical pesticides - possibly killing beneficial fauna and natural enemies of Thrips parvispinus in chilli fields.
-  Staggered planting might have provided continuous niche of food and shelter for thrips

(d) & (e) Presently, there is no proposal for creation of a separate Chilli Board in Andhra Pradesh.

Currently,  the  Union  Ministry  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  and  Spices  Board under  the  Ministry  of  Commerce  &  Industry  adequately  cover  all  the  aspects  of production, quality management, domestic marketing and export promotion of spices including Chilli in the Country.

The  mandate  for  production,  research,  development,  post-harvest  treatment  and domestic  marketing  of  spices,  including  chilli,  is  vested  in  the  Union  Ministry  of Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  (DA&FW),  Indian  Council  of  Agriculture  Research (ICAR),  Agriculture  Produce  Market  Committee  (APMC),  etc.  DA&FW  implements several programmes related to the production and development of spices, including Chilli, under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).

Spices  board  has  the  mandate  for  export  promotion  and  quality  control  of  spices exported from India, and undertakes activities for post-harvest improvement, building market-linkages, export promotion and quality evaluation of spices, including chilli, for export.

Annexure-1 Annexure referred in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Question No. 2616 on Chilli Production to be answered on 19 th  December 2023

| State-wise production of Chilli for the year form 2019-20 to 2022-23 (2 nd Adv.Est)   | State-wise production of Chilli for the year form 2019-20 to 2022-23 (2 nd Adv.Est)   | State-wise production of Chilli for the year form 2019-20 to 2022-23 (2 nd Adv.Est)   | State-wise production of Chilli for the year form 2019-20 to 2022-23 (2 nd Adv.Est)   | State-wise production of Chilli for the year form 2019-20 to 2022-23 (2 nd Adv.Est)   | State-wise production of Chilli for the year form 2019-20 to 2022-23 (2 nd Adv.Est)   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl. No.                                                                               | States/UTs                                                                            | 2019-20                                                                               | 2020-21                                                                               | 2021-22                                                                               | 2022-2023 (2nd Adv. Est.)                                                             |
| 1                                                                                     | Andhra Pradesh                                                                        | 805.03                                                                                | 796.65                                                                                | 417.81                                                                                | 767.00                                                                                |
| 2                                                                                     | Telangana                                                                             | 436.38                                                                                | 536.54                                                                                | 651.34                                                                                | 506.93                                                                                |
| 3                                                                                     | Madhya Pradesh                                                                        | 208.63                                                                                | 315.60                                                                                | 319.82                                                                                | 322.00                                                                                |
| 4                                                                                     | Karnataka                                                                             | 129.24                                                                                | 147.05                                                                                | 177.31                                                                                | 167.97                                                                                |
| 5                                                                                     | Odisha                                                                                | 69.28                                                                                 | 69.28                                                                                 | 69.26                                                                                 | 89.00                                                                                 |
| 6                                                                                     | Gujarat                                                                               | 18.91                                                                                 | 23.35                                                                                 | 28.78                                                                                 | 30.65                                                                                 |
| 7                                                                                     | Uttar Pradesh                                                                         | 11.81                                                                                 | 12.07                                                                                 | 25.41                                                                                 | 27.23                                                                                 |
| 8                                                                                     | Tamil Nadu                                                                            | 22.92                                                                                 | 25.65                                                                                 | 26.38                                                                                 | 21.97                                                                                 |
| 9                                                                                     | Punjab                                                                                | 16.96                                                                                 | 17.63                                                                                 | 19.96                                                                                 | 21.42                                                                                 |
| 10                                                                                    | Assam                                                                                 | 21.87                                                                                 | 20.19                                                                                 | 20.61                                                                                 | 21.07                                                                                 |
| 11                                                                                    | Maharashtra                                                                           | 22.43                                                                                 | 24.48                                                                                 | 19.88                                                                                 | 19.96                                                                                 |
| 12                                                                                    | Rajasthan                                                                             | 20.03                                                                                 | 10.93                                                                                 | 13.38                                                                                 | 11.74                                                                                 |
| 13                                                                                    | Mizoram                                                                               | 10.92                                                                                 | 10.92                                                                                 | 10.92                                                                                 | 10.92                                                                                 |
| 14                                                                                    | Uttarakhand                                                                           | 9.63                                                                                  | 9.69                                                                                  | 9.33                                                                                  | 9.07                                                                                  |
| 15                                                                                    | West Bengal                                                                           | 8.58                                                                                  | 7.82                                                                                  | 7.78                                                                                  | 7.78                                                                                  |
| 16                                                                                    | Tripura                                                                               | 6.66                                                                                  | 6.70                                                                                  | 6.96                                                                                  | 7.60                                                                                  |
| 17                                                                                    | Nagaland                                                                              | 1.75                                                                                  | 4.33                                                                                  | 1.57                                                                                  | 4.33                                                                                  |
| 18                                                                                    | Bihar                                                                                 | 4.71                                                                                  | 3.65                                                                                  | 3.62                                                                                  | 3.89                                                                                  |
| 19                                                                                    | Chhattisgarh                                                                          | 3.25                                                                                  | 3.25                                                                                  | 3.11                                                                                  | 2.81                                                                                  |
| 20                                                                                    | Haryana                                                                               | 4.03                                                                                  |                                                                                       |                                                                                       | 2.42                                                                                  |
| 21                                                                                    | Manipur                                                                               | 0.00                                                                                  |                                                                                       | 1.56                                                                                  | 1.09                                                                                  |
| 22                                                                                    | Arunachal Pradesh                                                                     | 0.85                                                                                  | 2.38                                                                                  | 0.01                                                                                  | 0.98                                                                                  |
| 23                                                                                    | Himachal Pradesh                                                                      | 0.28                                                                                  | 0.40                                                                                  | 0.43                                                                                  | 0.54                                                                                  |
| 24                                                                                    | Jammu & Kashmir                                                                       | 0.56                                                                                  | 0.55                                                                                  | 0.51                                                                                  | 0.50                                                                                  |
| 25                                                                                    | Others                                                                                | 0.41                                                                                  | 0.13                                                                                  | 0.47                                                                                  | 0.50                                                                                  |
|                                                                                       | Total                                                                                 | 1835.10                                                                               | 2049.21                                                                               | 1836.22                                                                               | 2059.36                                                                               |

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