Agricultural gross value added growth of 3%

New Delhi: The harvest of most crops is expected to be bountiful with above-average monsoon rainfall on a pan-India basis with growth of gross value added (GVA) at basic prices in agriculture, forestry and fishing to print at 3 per cent in the second quarter of current financial year, investment information firm ICRA has said.

The rainfall contributed to a healthy 4.8 per cent rise in kharif acreage. “Despite episodes of heavy rainfall, and deficient precipitation in some areas, the harvest of most crops is expected to be bountiful,” said ICRA.

Pan-India rainfall stood at 109 per cent of long period average (LPA) in the monsoon months (June to September), well above the 102 per cent level projected by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).ANI