Coarse Cereals in Indian Agriculture A Review of Performance and Prospects

Emerging imbalances in Indian agriculture in Indian agriculture reflected in the differences in production performance of different crops are now well recognised. One of the causes of these uneven agricultural situations is the relatively poor performance or complete stagnation of the important coarse cereals. Coarse cereals are the staple diet of millions of peasants and labourers. Not only are these cereals cultivated under rainfed conditions but they are also grown in drought-prone areas. Consequently, their production is subject to violent fluctuations. Coarse cereals constitute about 22 per cent of production and 38 per cent of area under cereals. The proportion of these cereals has been declining over the years and the yields of these crops are quite low. Growth rate analysis indicates that the performance of coarse cereals has not at all been satisfactory particularly after the major technological breakthrough in Indian agriculture during the mid 60s. in this paper an attempt has been made to analyse the performance of coarse cereals and to identify the constraints hindering growth of these cereals. Policy options are suggested to overcome the constraints and to bridge the burgeoning supply-demand gap in the availability of these cereals.