April 2, 2012

India's wheat crops may drop up to 18% by 2020

By 2020, the productivity of staple grain wheat could weaken by about 6-18% due to adverse impact of climate change, which is resulting in higher temperature, the Parliament was informed today.

The yield of another major food crop rice might also fall by up to 6% by 2020, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said in Rajya Sabha quoting from research conducted under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)'s Network Project on Climate Change (NPCC).

"Indian studies conducted under ICAR's NPCC indicate that climate change may reduce yield of timely sown irrigated wheat by about 6% in 2020," Pawar said in a written reply.

He pointed out that in the case of late and very late sown wheat, the projected impact can reduce the productivity by 18%, if no adaptation measures are followed.

India produced a record wheat and rice production at 88.31 million tonnes and 102.75 million tonnes, respectively.

The productivity of kharif corn and sorghum could also be affected by climate change, the minister said.

Pawar referred to reports like Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (2007) and Universal Ecological Fund (2011), which have indicated affect of climate change on agriculture globally.

"According to these reports, there will be 14% deficit in global wheat production, 11% in rice and 9% in corn by 2020," the minister pointed out.