Punjab is on track for a blockbuster wheat harvest, with state Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian projecting a bumper crop of 124 lakh metric tons for the 2025 rabi season.

Speaking on Friday, April 4, 2025, Khudian credited ideal weather—prolonged cold snaps and timely rains—and the high-yielding PBW 826 variety for the windfall, despite earlier fears of weather woes. “This could be one of our best hauls yet,” he said, beaming with optimism as the state’s 35 lakh hectares of wheat fields near harvest.

The forecast, if it holds, would top last year’s 122.6 lakh metric tons procured for the central pool, a figure boosted by a 22-quintal-per-acre yield, per Punjab’s agriculture department. This season’s sowing hit 35.08 lakh hectares, slightly up from 34.9 lakh last year, with crop-cutting experiments already hinting at a 9.55 percent productivity spike in spots. Farmers, buoyed by an MSP of Rs 2,275 per quintal (up Rs 150 from 2024), are eyeing a payout bonanza, with procurement set to kick off mid-April.

Not all’s rosy, though—March rains flattened crops on 14 lakh hectares, sparking calls for relaxed norms. Still, Khudian’s upbeat, banking on Punjab’s 3,691 purchase centers to handle the deluge. “We’re ready to roll,” he said, as the state gears up to feed India’s breadbasket—and its coffers—once more.