Rajasthan expects kharif crop production to double to 110.62 lakh tonnes this year vis-a-vis the previous year due to good rainfall in the last two-and-a- half months, a senior agriculture official said today.

As against a target of 142.50 lakh hectares, sowing has been done in 147.23 lakh hectares in the ongoing kharif season. This was above the five-year average of 142.45 lakh hectares due to the excellent monsoon, Rajasthan Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister Harji Ram Burdak said.

Last year, production of kharif crops -- including bajra, maize, goundnut, soyabean, moong, moth dal, pulses and oil seeds -- was just 56.44 lakh tonnes, an all-time low, he said.

But with sufficient rainwater stored in dams and well- irrigated land, the Rajasthan government has mobilised the agriculture department to provide crop seeds, fertilisers and cooperative loans to farmers in the ongoing kharif season.

Furthermore, to cash in on the good rainfall, the agriculture department has fixed the target for sowing of wheat, barley, maize and oilseeds during the forthcoming rabi season to 78.04 lakh hectares, against 68.70 lakh hectares last year, the official said.

Besides seeds and fertilisers, the government will distribute crop loans worth Rs 3,063 crore to farmers in the upcoming rabi season, Burdak said at a press conference.

The loan target is three times more than that of the previous rabi season, the official said.

In the last rabi crop season, the state had distributed crop loans to the tune of Rs 987.51 crore.

It is hoped that 9 lakh farmers will benefit from the low-interest loans given by the government, Burdak said.