Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2020) 9(3): 550-555 550 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.903.064 Wheat Production in Uttar Pradesh – A Study on the Growth and Instability Over Time Anwesha Dey*, M. Anoop and Yash Gautam 1 Department of Agricultural Economics, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Wheat is an important cereal preferred across the globe and is the dominant staple food in many countries. It is one of the first domesticated crops and has been one of the staples in the diet of many civilizations for more than 8,000 years. The adaptability of wheat crop for cultivation in various climatic regions, the ease of storage and the ability to easily convert the grain to flour are the major factors that made wheat the most popular crop cultivated across the globe. At present wheat occupies the largest area under cultivation (220 million ha) than any other crop and its world trade is greater than all other crops combined (Janakiraman, 2020). India accounts for 13.43 per cent of global wheat area (29.55 million ha), 12.96 per cent International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 3 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Wheat is an important staple food crop throughout the globe. India is the second largest producer of wheat after China. Being an agrarian state leading in area and production of wheat in India, Uttar Pradesh holds a prominent place in wheat production. The present study examines the growth and instability in wheat area, production and productivity in Uttar Pradesh state over a period of 1950-51 to 2015-16 and also the study tries to decompose the major factors contributing to growth of wheat production in the state. The analysis revealed that throughout the whole period, there is positive significant growth rate in area, production and yield. Sub-period wise analysis showed variations in the rate of growth through different time periods. The analysis of instability showed that production instability (73.7 per cent) was higher compared to area (32 per cent) and yield instability (43 per cent) throughout the whole period. Highest instability was found for the second sub-period, compared to other sub-periods. Decomposition analysis showed that interaction effect of area and yield was the major contributor to the growth in wheat production in the state. Keywords Wheat, Uttar Pradesh, CAGR, Instability, Decomposition Accepted: 05 February 2020 Available Online: 10 March 2020 Article Info