Record-setting heat waves plaguing India are threatening crop yields amid increased global demand for grains. In response, the Indian government recently imposed a禁止小麦出口。
The early arrival of heat waves resulted in India’s hottest March on record,according to the India Meteorological Department。High temperatures continued through the following months and into June, peaking near 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
The record temperatures took their toll on wheat crop development, stunting growth and affecting projected yields. “India’s national planning commission, the Niti Aayog, estimates that wheat production will drop by 10 percent from the anticipated level of 110 million tons,” Dr. Prabhu Pingali, Director of the Tata-Cornell Institute, tells Food Tank. “Farms that suffered the most are the ones with poor or unreliable access to irrigation,” he adds. Fortunately, Pingali says, “the heatwave has not affected other crops to any significant extent.”
印度is the小麦的第二大生产商在世界上，稳定的增长印度过去三年的小麦生产为今年的生长季节增强了预测。
在热浪到达之前，印度是一个值得注意的候选人，以帮助冻结谷物价格inflation caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine。Combined, Russia and Ukraine accounted for over a quarter of the world’s小麦出口在2020年。但是俄罗斯对乌克兰的入侵破坏了供应链和制裁，导致全球小麦短缺。印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪（Narendra Modi）made assurances向受影响的国家发送食物救济。
尽管有这些意图，随着温度降低农作物的产量，该国决定禁止小麦出口，以确保满足国家需求的足够供应。
As a result, “the majority of wheat farmers, most of them cultivating less than two hectares of land, did not benefit from the rise in global prices,” Pingali tells Food Tank.
Pingali adds, “India has large enough buffer stocks to ensure that the crop loss and the rise in wheat prices will not seriously impact India’s rural poor, who are served by the largest subsidized food distribution program in the world, the Public Distribution System.”
But food price inflation still spells uncertainty for “impoverished people in urban areas, especially migrant laborers, [who] generally have worse access to such food programs. Rising food prices could seriously impact their food and nutritional security,” explains Pingali.
研究世界天气归因表明热浪可能会恶化。他们最近的研究得出的结论是：“被人为引起的气候变化使这种热浪更热，更有可能”和“这样的热浪将变得更加普遍和更热。”
普加利认为，印度的农业将需要适应减少气候变化的未来威胁。区域农业专家正在开会，以确定可以帮助印度农民坚持不懈的策略。Pingali说，这些最佳实践“包括利用减少耕作方法，使用高温耐受的作物品种，更有效的水和肥料管理以及更好地管理农作物残留物。”
塔塔 - 康奈尔研究所是working with smallholder farmers in the state of Biharto increase crop production and mitigate emissions through changes to agricultural systems. They hope to make Bihar a model for other Indian states and other countries facing similar climate challenges.
Pingali告诉食品坦克，“通过将生产从小麦味系统中多样化，从小麦片系统和农作物越来越多，既有营养和更依赖灌溉，例如小米和其他粗晶粒，”w88优德老虎机平台食品系统对气候变化更具弹性。”
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照片由塔塔 - 康奈尔研究所（Tata-Cornell Institute）提供
