NEW DELHI, Mar 14:
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday said there has not been any effect seen so far on wheat crop due to high temperatures and it will be too early to say about the likely impact.
On whether there has been any adverse impact seen in wheat crop as harvesting has started in some states like Madhya Pradesh, Tomar said, “Weather-related challenges are always there in front of agriculture.”
“Lekin main samjhta hoon ki abhi koi aisi stithi nahi hai. Koi prabhav pada hai, aisa kahna jaldbazi hogi (But I think, there is no such situation as of now. It will be too early to say that there has been any impact),” the minister told reporters here.
Tomar was speaking on the sidelines of an event organised here by Plant Based Food Industry Association (PBFIA).
Wheat is a major rabi (winter-sown) crop.
On February 20, the government formed a committee to monitor the situation arising out of any unusual rise in temperature and its impact on the wheat crop, and also to issue necessary advisories to the farming community to save the crop.
The decision to form a committee was taken as some parts of the country witnessed above-normal temperatures.
India’s wheat production fell to 107.74 million tonnes in the 2021-22 crop year (July-June) from 109.59 million tonnes in the previous year due to heat waves in some key producing states.
In May last year, the Centre banned wheat exports to control rising prices, after a slight fall in domestic production and a sharp decline in the FCI’s procurement for the central pool.
The government has pegged wheat production at record 112.18 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year as per the second advance estimates by the agriculture ministry.
Earlier this month, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra had said, “So, no heat wave to the extent that would damage the wheat crop is expected over the next two weeks, which is a crucial period for the formation of the grain.”
A below 35-degree celsius temperature is not a concern for the wheat crop, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Director A K Singh had said late last month. (PTI)
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