Wheat production in India is expected to decline by 4-5 percent in the current crop year from the initial estimates of 95.76 million tonnes (mt) due to unseasonal rains, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has said. In its second advanced estimate, the Agriculture Ministry has projected wheat production to drop slightly to 95.76 mt in current crop year (July-June) from 95.85 mt in the previous year.
Untimely rain and hail in parts of north India have damaged rabi (winter-sown) crops in about 11.3 million hectares of crop area in India. Total cultivable area in rabi season stands at 60 million hectares, the Minister said.
Agriculture Minister added that states have adequate funds under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to provide financial assistance to farmers affected by the unseasonal rains. The government provides support to states under State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) for losses to crops due to natural calamities. The government has also set up an informal group of ministers, headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, to look into the issue of raising cap of financial assistance given to farmers whose crops have been affected due to unseasonal rains and other natural calamities.