Heat no barrier to bumper wheat production

Procurement to get a boost

- JITENDRA CHOUBEY @New Delhi

WHEAT production is expected to be bumper this year though concerns have been raised over above-normal temperatures that could affect yields in some regions, according to the report of an experts' committee set up by the government. On the back of an expected good wheat yield, the government is hopeful of achieving its public procurement target, which has been missing for the past three years.

Following the India Meteorological Department's prediction of higher-than-normal temperatures in the Northwest region—where 65% of India's wheat is produced—the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare constituted a team of experts to evaluate crop conditions in key wheat-producing states, including Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.