Coarse correction: Yogi govt looking to boost production of millets, maize

Nutritional value, market demand, economical cultivation are tilting the scale in favour of coarse cereals

Driven by the overarching theme of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, the Yogi Adityanath government is working towards boosting the production of coarse cereals in Uttar Pradesh.

Coarse cereals require less water for irrigation, while their farm input costs are also economical compared to other crops such as wheat and paddy. The state government is encouraging farmers to cultivate prominent coarse cereals, including maize, jowar, bajra (millets) and jau (barley).

Currently, the total area under these four coarse cereals stands at almost two million hectares or 9.75 per cent out of the total 20.5 million hectares of cultivated area in