New Delhi: Wheat production in Punjab has increased by 13.5% this year to 168 lakh metric tonnes as compared to the preceding year, reports Tribune India.
The total wheat yield last year in the state was 148 lakh metric tonnes. Following the request of the state government due to the impact of the weather on the standing crops, the Union Government relaxed quality norms for wheat procurement.
The state would have recorded the highest wheat output this year but the weather affected the crop yield, as per the Punjab Agriculture Department.
Dr Gurvinder Singh, Director of the Punjab Agriculture Department said, “If the weather had not played spoilsports, we would have crossed our highest wheat production figure of 182 lakh metric tonnes.”
The centre has already procured over 121 lakh metric tonnes of wheat, higher than the previous year’s figure of 96.48 lakh metric tonnes.
