Rice production in the State is dwindling. Though there was a fluctuating trend between 2003-04 and 2005-06 in its production, the output of the item showed a sharp decline during 2006-07. Minister for Agriculture Pramila Rani Brahma stated this while replying to a question of Mission Ranjan Das (BJP) in the State Assembly today. In reply to another question from Pranab Kalita (Independent), she said that the State's daily requirement of rice was 12,000 MTs. Of it, about 17 per cent is imported from outside. This costs the State around 900 crore, she said. She said that natural calamities like severe flood and drought like condition, lack of assured irrigation and dependence on rainfall, inadequate mechanisation, non-availability of flood-tolerant winter rice and cold-tolerant short duration summer rice varieties, lack of adequate credit support etc were identified as the causes for the decreasing trend of rice production. The State could produce 37.38 lakh metric tonnes (MTs) of rice. In the following year, its production of the item rose to 38.80 lakh MTs. But in 2004-05, it came down to 34.70 lakh MTs and in 2005-06 it rose to 35.52 lakh MTs, said the Minister. According to a 2002-03 assessment, the size of the State's farmland is around 2,753 hectares.