Rabi wheat sowing has started in large parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and is expected to be completed in key growing regions in a month.
Agriculture ministry officials said sowing was delayed in some parts due to standing paddy crop in some wheat-growing areas. According to latest data, wheat was sown in 12 million hectare till now against last year’s 12.19 mh.
In Uttar Pradesh, the country’s biggest wheat producer, sowing started on a slow note thanks to a few weeks’ delay in harvesting kharif paddy. In Haryana, 1.95 mh is under wheat cultivation till date. In Punjab, the crop had been sown in 2.76 mh, about 72,000 hectares less than last year.
?Due to the conducive climate, sowing is on in key areas. Area under wheat cultivation is marginally below last year’s, mainly due to late harvest of kharif paddy in some parts,? said Indu Sharma, project director at directorate of wheat research, a Karnal-based institute affiliated to Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Sharma said sowing would be completed shortly in producing states. Last year, wheat was sown in more than 28.8 mh, 9.31 lakh hectare more than last year.
The government feels soil moisture content due to adequate monsoon rainfall will help wheat farms.
Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar stated last month that wheat production is expected to cross a record 86 million tonne for the 2011-12 crop year. Last year, production stood at a record 85.93 mt. A ministry official said this year, country could achieve record wheat output, provided there is no occurrence of yellow-rust incidents.
The Union Cabinet has already hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat to R1,285 per quintal, from the last year’s R1,120. Food Corporation of India (FCI) purchased a record 27.86 million tonne of wheat last year. FCI purchases wheat from farmers for allocating it to states for distribution under the Targetted Public Distribution System and for maintaining buffer stocks and strategic reserves norms.