Govt sets record wheat output target at 119 mn tons for 2025-26

New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) The government has set a record wheat production target of 119 million tonnes for the 2025-26 crop year, marking a 3.47 per cent increase from the previous year, according to the agriculture ministry.

For the 2024-25 crop year (July-June), the government had set a wheat production target of 115 million tonnes, with actual output estimated at a record 117.5 million tonnes.

Wheat is the main rabi (winter) crop, with sowing beginning from late October and continuing through November. Other rabi crops include jowar, barley, gram and lentil.

The total foodgrain production target has been set at 171.14 million tonnes for the 2025-26 rabi season.

Briefing the media on the sidelines of the two-day national rabi conference, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said there is an adequate supply of seeds and fertilisers for the rabi season.

In the upcoming rabi season, over 2,000 teams of agriculture scientists will visit farmers to provide timely knowledge and guidance through a rabi campaign called 'Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan', set to begin from October 3, he said.

According to the ministry, the wheat production target for Uttar Pradesh has been kept at 36.40 million tonnes for the upcoming 2025-26 rabi season, while Madhya Pradesh has been assigned 24 million tonnes, Punjab 18 million tonnes, Rajasthan 11.55 million tonnes, Haryana 11.55 million tonnes, and Bihar 7.25 million tonnes.

The government has set a target to produce 16.57 million tonnes of pulses and 15.07 million tonnes of oilseeds during the 2025-26 rabi season.

Speaking about wheat and rice, the minister said the country's production has achieved global levels, but there is a need to focus more on pulses and oilseeds.

The government is undertaking crop-wise reviews and will take concrete steps to increase rabi crops output, he pointed out.

The minister said there is adequate seed available for the upcoming rabi season. Against the requirement of 22.9 million tonnes of seed, nearly 25 million tonnes are already available.

Chouhan highlighted ongoing state-level action against sellers of spurious pesticides, seeds and fertilisers.

In flood-hit states, he said, the government is taking all steps to support the affected states.

"Efforts are being made to ensure timely and adequate disbursal of insurance benefits to farmers covered under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana." He mentioned that Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Assam, and parts of Haryana have been particularly impacted due to floods.

Agriculture ministers of various states, Union Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi, and ICAR Director General ML Jat were also present at the conference. PTI LUX BAL BAL