Which country is the largest producer of cereal grains?
List of largest producing countries of agricultural commodities
Production (and consumption) of agricultural plant commodities has a diverse geographical distribution. Along with climate and corresponding types of vegetation, the economy of a nation also influences the level of agricultural production. Production of some products is highly concentrated in a few countries while other are widely produced. For instance, China, the leading producer of wheat and ramie in 2013, produces 6% of the world's ramie fiber but only 17% of the world's wheat. Products with more evenly distributed production see more frequent changes in ranking of the top producers.
Plant breeding in Nepal
Wheat is the third largest cereal crop in Nepal after rice and maize. Before the introduction of Mexican semi-dwarf wheat varieties, wheat cultivation in Nepal was limited to mid and far-western hills only and it was considered as a minor cereal in the country. After the introduction of semi-dwarf varieties from Mexico, the area and production of wheat in Nepal has been increased dramatically and now it has significant contribution to the national food supply. In 1965/66, wheat area in the country was 100,000 ha and the production was 112,000 metric tons. In 2006/07, its area and production have increased to 702664 ha and 1515139 metric tons respectively. The present national average wheat productivity is 2156 kg/ha. Wheat is cultivated in 20 percent of the total cultivated land area and contributes 18.8 percent to the total national cereal production. Per capita wheat consumption has increased from 17.4 kg in 1972 at the time of NWRP establishment to 60 kg in 2007. In Terai, as irrigation facility is steadily increasing there is still ample opportunity to expand the wheat area where the lands remain fallow after rice harvesting.