Tuesday, May 17, 2022
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
Scoftware Magazine
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Entertainment
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
Scoftware Magazine
Home Business

How heatwave might thwart India’s dream to feed the world

Jaleel M. by Jaleel M.
April 20, 2022
in Business
0
How heatwave might thwart India’s dream to feed the world
0
SHARES
7
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


With wheat supplies from Russia and Ukraine hit, there’s a big chance for India to step in and tap into the export market. But yields in north India are seeing a drop

Related posts

How a sustainable, destination-oriented tourism may do wonders for India

How a sustainable, destination-oriented tourism may do wonders for India

May 17, 2022
10 grams of 24-carat stands at Rs 50,450; silver at Rs 59,400 per kilogram 

10 grams of 24-carat stands at Rs 50,450; silver at Rs 59,400 per kilogram 

May 17, 2022

Explained: How heatwave might thwart India’s dream to feed the world

India is hoping for bumper crop to tap into the export market but the heatwave is likely to play spoilsport. AFP

There’s a huge window of opportunity for India to fill in the shoes of Russia and Ukraine and export wheat to the world. It’s something that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was banking on too.

During a talk with United States president Joe Biden last week, Modi offered to supply India’s food stock to the world if the World Trade Organisation (WTO) accords permission. “We already have enough food for our people but our farmers seem to have made arrangements to feed the world,” he had said.

Can the country become a breadbasket as war rages on in Ukraine? We take a look.

Why is there a shortage of wheat?

Russia and Ukraine combine for nearly a third of the world’s wheat and barley exports. But the ongoing conflict between the two nations means they cannot fulfil their commitments.

The war in Ukraine has cut off supplies from one of the world’s leading breadbaskets and is set to prevent the planting of crops this year, leading to an unprecedented shortage. Wheat prices are at their highest since the global food crisis in 2008. The sanctions on Russia do not make the situation any better. Delivers from both nations have been hit and the most affected are countries in Africa and West Asia.

“The supply disruptions and threat of embargo facing Russia mean that these exports have to be taken out of the equation. India could step in to export more, especially when it has enough stocks of wheat,” Upali Galketi Aratchilage, a Rome-based economist at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, told BBC.

This disruption in wheat supplies has thrown open a chance for India to step in. It is hoping to export the grain to Egypt, Turkey, the Philippines, and some nations in Africa and Europe.

But does India have surplus wheat to export?

The country is the second-biggest producer of wheat. As of April, it had 74 million tonnes in stock of which 21 million has been kept for strategic reserve, reports BBC.

The plan was to use the reserve stock for exports. The Indian government was looking for new markets to sell the staple.

Plus, India is counting on a bumper crop to tap into the export market but the heatwave is likely to play spoilsport.

Wheat is currently being harvested in the big grain-bowl states in north India – Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. Cultivators said their per-acre yields have dropped by 10 to 15 per cent, reports The Hindustan Times (HT).

Another report in The Wire says that in Punjab and Haryana, the largest producers of wheat in the country, around 20 to 25 per cent of the harvest was lost.

In February, the government forecast wheat production would be a record 111.32 million tonnes this year, against 109.59 million tonnes the previous year. An early summer marked by nearly a month of above-normal temperatures in March threatens to upend that estimate, according to the HT report.

Explained How heatwave might thwart Indias dream to feed the world

The wheat yield in the north Indian states, especially Punjab and Haryana, has dropped. AFP

Why is there a drop in production?

North India experienced extreme heatwave conditions in March. This is a time when the crop was in the advanced ripening stage. But the rising temperatures caused the grains to shrivel, which affected both the quality and weight of output, according to farmers.

That’s not all. India is also facing a shortage of fertilisers, partly fuelled by the war as Russia is one of the largest producers and exporters of fertiliser. India also depends on China for fertiliser but the country has blocked exports until late 2022 for its food security.

It’s the small-scale farmers who have been worst hit as they cannot find fertiliser to buy at all. “It has been a nightmare for me, having to queue up endlessly to buy fertilisers,” said Shiv Ram Singh, a rice and wheat farmer from Madhya Pradesh. “(I) wake up in the middle of the night because someone has an extra sack they are selling on the black market,” he told Reuters.

According to Harish Damodaran, a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, a Delhi-based think tank, the yield will be lower because of fertiliser shortage and the extreme weather conditions. “…we should not become gung-ho about feeding the world,” he told BBC.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.





Source link

Previous Post

10 grams of 24-carat priced at Rs 54,380; silver at Rs 70,000 per kilo

Next Post

Sensex rises 574 points, Nifty ends at 17,136 points; check top gainers and losers here

Next Post
Sensex rises 574 points, Nifty ends at 17,136 points; check top gainers and losers here

Sensex rises 574 points, Nifty ends at 17,136 points; check top gainers and losers here

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED NEWS

ZHU UNVEILS NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO, “RISKY BUSINESS”

ZHU UNVEILS NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO, “RISKY BUSINESS”

2 years ago
Istanbul Hopes To Host New, ‘Historic’ Champions League Final

Istanbul Hopes To Host New, ‘Historic’ Champions League Final

2 years ago
The Imaginaries Unveils Two Videos For “Revival” and “Thinking ‘Bout You”

The Imaginaries Unveils Two Videos For “Revival” and “Thinking ‘Bout You”

2 years ago
Freshly, Home Chef & More: Which Meal Delivery Service Is Right for You?

Freshly, Home Chef & More: Which Meal Delivery Service Is Right for You?

2 years ago

FOLLOW US

  • 110 Followers
  • 29.5k Followers
  • 168k Subscribers

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Business
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Music
  • National
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Travel
  • World News

BROWSE BY TOPICS

2018 League Balinese Culture Bali United Budget Travel Champions League Chopper Bike Doctor Terawan Istana Negara Market Stories National Exam Visit Bali

POPULAR NEWS

  • Charles B and Kamil Ghaouti Collaborate on Groovy New Track “You’re Not Mine,” featuring LauraBrown. Out on Protocol Recordings

    Charles B and Kamil Ghaouti Collaborate on Groovy New Track “You’re Not Mine,” featuring LauraBrown. Out on Protocol Recordings

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Kris Jenner Spills Details About Her Sex Life With Corey Gamble: Watch

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Sam Heughan & Graham McTavish Are Men in Kilts for Travel Show

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Common Saints Release New Single “Idol Eyes”

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Salted vs. Unsalted Pistachios

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers

© 2020 Scoftware.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Culture
  • National
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Opinion

© 2020 Scoftware.com

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy