Govt sets up committee to monitor impact of rise in temp on wheat crop

New Delhi: The government on Monday said it has set up a committee to monitor the impact of rise in temperature on the wheat crop.

The move comes amid a forecast by the National Crop Forecast Centre (NCFC) that maximum temperature in major wheat producing areas barring Madhya Pradesh was higher-than-average of the last seven years during the first week of February. Even the Met Department has projected above-normal temperature in Gujarat, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, in next two days. Speaking to reporters, Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja said, "We have set up a committee to monitor the situation arising due to increase in temperature on the wheat crop." The committee will issue advisories to farmers on adopting micro irrigation, he said.

The committee, to be headed by the Agriculture Commissioner, will also have members from Karnal-based Wheat Research Institute and representatives from major wheat growing states, he added. The Secretary, however, said there won't be an impact of rise in temperature on early-sown varieties and even heat resistant varieties have been sown in large areas this time. Wheat production is estimated to hit a record at 112.18 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June). Wheat production had declined marginally to 107.74 million tonnes in the previous year, due to heat wave conditions in some states. Wheat is a major rabi crop, harvesting of which has started in some states.