Centre expects record wheat output this year

The current bout of unseasonal rain has not done much damage to the standing wheat crop and the government is confident wheat production in 2015-16 will surpass last year’s record output of 95.85 million tonnes.

“Damage to the  crop is limited to a few areas. The current low temperature will further boost productivity. My assessment is that wheat production this year is going to be very good, maybe more than last year,” agriculture secretary Siraj Hussain told reporters here on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a top agriculture department official from Punjab, India’s premier wheat producing state, said wheat crop worth Rs 3,000 crore was damaged due to the recent unseasonal rain.

“Both the state and Central agencies procure wheat worth Rs 15,000 crore from the state (Punjab). About 15-20 per cent of wheat crop seems to have got damaged, which would result in a loss of about Rs 3,000 crore,” the Press Trust of India quoted Punjab agriculture minister Sardar Tota Singh as saying.

The government’s second advanced estimate had pegged India’s total wheat production in 2015-16 at 96.76 million tonnes.

“Wheat crops that have fallen flat due to heavy rains and winds... could recover if the current weather continues,” said Hussain.

D V Prabhu, joint director (research) at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, said: “The recent rains have rather been beneficial to wheat crop. We expect wheat production to be a record 97-98 million tonnes.” According to him, total production could even touch 100 million tonnes “if good weather prevails till harvesting”.  

Standing crops in about five million hectares in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal have been damaged by the recent unseasonal rains, according to the government’s data placed before Parliament.

Hussain has said the government is focusing on raising the productivity of pulses and oilseeds, which India is heavily dependent on imports. He also called upon farm scientists to work towards developing varieties to achieve self-sufficiency in production of these two commodities.

To ensure better price to farmers, Hussain said the government would set up a common national market and allow farmers to sell their produce freely anywhere in the country.