Good production in the livestock, forestry and fisheries sector seems to have saved the day for the entire agriculture sector of India, which recorded a marginal increase in the growth rate at 2.2 per cent for the second quarter of 2015-16, compared to the same period last year.

The agriculture and allied sector grew at 2.1 per cent in the July-September quarter of 2014-15 and it was expected to perform poorly this year mainly due to droughts in several parts of the country.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, too, agriculture and allied sector surprisingly grew from 1.9 per cent in the April-June quarter to 2.2 per cent in the July-September quarter.

The statement furnished by the Central Statistical Office showed 51 of the gross value-added (GVA) in agriculture and allied sector comes from the livestock, forestry and fisheries sector, which grew six per cent during the quarter, much better than the overall growth.

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