Progress and Challenges of Wheat Production in the Era of Climate Change: A Bangladesh Perspective

In Bangladesh after rice, wheat is considered the second most important staple cereal. Although Bangladesh is one of the principal rice-consuming countries with per capita consumption of rice 171 kg year−1, the consumption of wheat in Bangladesh has intensely increased over the years. From the year 1961 to 2013, the annual per capita wheat intake in Bangladesh has increased by 102% from 8.62 to 17.47 kg. Currently, Bangladesh mostly relies on import to meet surging demand. During 2011–2013, triennium average, Bangladesh imported 2.86 million tons of wheat worth of USD 957.4 million. During 2018 only, about 7.0 million tons of wheat has been imported, which is nearly 80% of the total wheat supplied in the country consisting of domestic production and import. It is anticipated that wheat intake will be further increased in Bangladesh in the future, due to the changes in lifestyle which stems from an increase in income and speedy urbanization. It is therefore imperative to supply more wheat in Bangladesh in the future to ensure food demand of growing population in Bangladesh. At the same time, sustainable wheat production in Bangladesh is threatened by several stresses (biotic and abiotic) in addition to the competition of wheat with other winter crops. The chapter has highlighted the major constraints and prospects of wheat cultivation in relation to possible improved technologies under changing climate and provided an up-to-date and comprehensive information on the wheat research of Bangladesh in relation to global warming. This chapter will thus allow wheat researchers to make a comprehensive new breeding and management programs in Bangladesh to mitigate future global warming, especially for recently emerged wheat blast disease in Bangladesh including South Asia.