Maize in India: Production Systems, Constraints - AgEcon Search

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Drought, non-availability of good quality seed, and
post-flowering stalk rot are the top research priorities
in both the low and high rainfall sub-regions. Research
strategies for drought would differ depending on the
rainfall regime. In the low rainfall sub-region, persistent
drought during crop growth is a serious problem. In
contrast, it is terminal drought that af fects production
in the high rainfall sub-region. Breeding efforts along
with in-situ moisture conservation could alleviate the
drought problem. Non-availability of good quality seed
is another problem limiting maize production. Though
there are many private and public seed companies in
the region, it appears that availability of unadulterated
seed is still a problem. Policy research to critically
diagnose the problem and assess impediments for
acquiring good quality seed is a prerequisite to
prescribing the solutions. Simultaneously, strict
enforcement of quality contr ol standards should be
aggressively initiated in the region to overcome the
problem of farmer exploitation by seed companies.
In the medium rainfall region, Turcicum leaf blight
(TLB), post-flowering stalk rot, and non-availability of
good quality seed are the key priority constraints and
research issues. Strong breeding ef forts are required to
address the problem of TLB. A combination of breeding
efforts with plant protection and crop management
research is required to manage post-flowering stalk rot.
The seed sector needs to be strengthened through
policy research and institutional support to solve these
problems.
5.1.4 Anticipatory research
Maize is gradually spreading to non-traditional maize
growing areas (to meet increasing household and feed
industry demands), and its uses are also changing.
Though the majority of the rural population is still using
maize as a staple food, the higher-income stratum
prefers it for soup and vegetable purposes and
increasingly uses maize oil. The broiler industry
requires better protein convertibility and low-cost feed
materials to improve competitiveness. Therefore, it is
important to incorporate end-users’ needs into the ongoing
research program, and the research focus may
need to be shifted to address new challenges. In this
context, the priority research topics identified included
quality protein maize, baby corn, popcorn, sweet corn,
high oil content, wax starch, and dual-purpose maize
(food and fodder). In addition, a research focus aimed
at developing innovative institutional arrangements to
strengthen production-marketing-processing linkages
would benefit producers, consumers, and the emerging
poultry industry, because market access also poses a
major obstacle in traditional maize growing areas.
5.2 National Research Priorities
At the national level, the Directorate of Maize Research
develops the research agenda for frontier areas and
coordinates research of common interest in different
locations.
Results of the research prioritization exercise in this
study show that research priorities across the selected
maize growing regions in India may vary depending on
research targets/objectives: efficiency, poverty, and
marginality of environment (see Table 25). When
efficiency is the main focus of research, the top
priorities may be confined to new niches, such as the
non-traditional areas of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
or in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where maize has
emerged as a new winter season crop. The private
sector is also active in these new niche areas. If poverty
alleviation is the main objective for maize research,
alleviating constraints in poverty-ridden Eastern Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar, followed by Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh, and the Central and Western Regions of Uttar
Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, has high
priority. If marginality of the production envir onment is
the focus of research, alleviating maize production
constraints in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and the
Central and Western regions is important.
There is, however, a trade-off when one moves from
one objective to another, i.e, between research
efficiency, poverty alleviation, and marginality. The
trade-off means that, using a given efficiency criterion,
research efforts would address the yield-maximizing
and cost-reducing objective with an overall increase in
employment opportunities and farmers’ income. When
poverty alleviation comes to the forefront, however,
efficiency is sacrificed to some extent. Similarly, when
marginality of the environment, which can cover a
larger area, is emphasized, research efficiency would
have to be sacrificed. For example, if poverty alleviation
becomes the primary research objective, the loss in
terms of research efficiency is about 5%, but it covers
17% more poor people. Similarly, if marginality is
considered an objective, there would be a reduction of
approximately 33% in research efficiency, but a larger
maize area (roughly 25%) in marginal environments
would be included for research.