GB Pant University & Texas A& M University visiting Professor and Senior Fellow Dr BB Singh said that India has received world-wide praise for achieving the green revaluation in wheat and rice and for producing the maximum amount of milk and eggs in the world. This world over praise made our political leaders complacent and they stopped investing in agriculture from 1990 onwards.
Also, the agricultural scientists in India are mostly involved in routine research and not innovating new technologies. As a consequence, the food production has remained stagnant with continuous increase in population. Now, our yields are the lowest in the world for all crops as well as for milk and eggs.
The average cereals yield in India is about 2.9 tonne compared to 6 tonne in China and over 7 tonne in many advanced countries. Similarly the average yield of soybean in India is about 1 tonne compared to 3 tonne in USA and Brazil and 2.5 tonne of world average. He said that even though India is the largest producer of milk in the world the average yield per cow/buffalo per day in India is currently less than 4 litre compared to 32 liter/day in USA and 38 litre /day in Israel. Dr Singh expressed these views while giving a lecture on ‘Food and nutritional security in India’ at Pantnagar university on Saturday
Dr. Singh said that over 300 million Indians cannot afford to purchase enough food particularly pulses, oils and milk products and, therefore, remain underfed and suffer from malnutrition. If we can raise our cereals yields to 5 tonne/ha, soybean yield to 2 tonne/has and milk yield to 15 litre/day, which is a real possibility within 10 years, India would be the richest and happiest country in the world. This can all be achieved by adequate and balanced application of FYM and fertilizers.
He suggested that the directorates of research, communication and extension should bring in research to farmers as well as to policy makers through a variety of mass media and demonstrations. At the end he exhorted the Pantvarsity scientists to let University spearhead the 21st century agricultural innovation movement to create new’ precision and crop-livestock integrated farming practices’ appropriate to the millions of small farmers in India and create awareness for achieving true self sufficiency in food for all Indians.