India needs to increase its Maize yield: Assocham

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has said that the consumption of maize in next 12 years will rise to 26.2 mn tonne from current level of 15.1 mn tonne.

According to a study jointly done by Assocham and AgriWatch the maze production is growing at 6 per cent against its consumption of 4.7% in the country.

“As the average yield growth was around 3.82% over the last two decades, the yield growth will be required to be speeded up in such a case. To  maintain self sufficiency the country will require production of 26.2 mn tonne, which in turn will require yield to be increased to 3.08 mn tonne per hectare, said D S Rawat, secretary general, Assocham.

However, the study also points out the increasing competition among the crops for land due to absence of lateral expansion.According to the report,  the scope for increase in maize acreage in the coming years is almost non existent and the production growth will be highly dependent on yield growth.

The report says that the growing demand from feed and starch sector,will make the overall demand for maize shoot up significantly.

Assocham has said, the country needs to boost its yield of maize to maintain its self sufficiency. Also, looking at the increasing global demand, particularly in Asia, India has a huge potential to increase its market share in the global trade, Assocham said.

“ A window of opportunity has now emerged following strengthening of global corn prices, which in turn is triggering enormous demand for Indian maize in the Asian regions.” said Rawat.