While decrease in wheat acreage partly answers the riddle of wheat production fall, concerns run high over the adverse fallout of climate stresses. With six million tons of imports a year, Bangladesh now stands among top five wheat importing nations of the world. However, hotter and drier weather, driven by a changing climate, threatens the global wheat supply. Without public research, wheat production could decrease by nearly 30% over the same period due to extreme climate conditions, it adds. Wheat scientists in Bangladesh told Dhaka Tribune that, in a show of renewed importance to wheat and maize development in the country, the government upgraded Dinajpur-based Wheat Research Centre into Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute (BWMRI) in 2017.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 15, 2021 13:52 UTC