Introduction

​Agriculture constitutes the largest sector of our economy. Majority of the population, directly or indirectly, dependent on this sector. It contributes about 24 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for half of employed labour force and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings. It feeds whole rural and urban population. Realizing its importance, planners and policy makers are always keen to have reliable area and production statistics of agricultural crops well in time. Policy makers primarily need accurate and timely statistics for the important crops such as wheat, cotton, rice, sugarcane, maize etc. However, in recent years, due to persistent hikes in the prices of essential commodities like pulses, onions, potatoes, chillies and tomatoes these crops have also gained in economic importance.