Brajesh Shahi

Popularising Direct Seeded Rice: Issues and Extension Strategies

Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) is the technology which is water, labour and energy efficient along with eco-friendly characteristics. Flooded rice is a major source of methane emission, while the use of nitrogen fertilizers produces nitrous oxide; both are greenhouse gases linked to global warming. The dominant method of rice establishment is transplanting in the rice-wheat growing areas of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). However, rising labour costs for establishing a nursery, puddling fields, and transplanting have increased costs for transplanting in the region. Direct seeding of rice was a common practice before green revolution in India and is becoming popular once again because of its potential to save water and labour. However, high weed infestation is the major bottleneck in DSR, especially in dry field conditions and, availability of several nutrients including N, P, S and micronutrients such as Zn and Fe, is likely to be a constraint. Extension activities can play very important role in popularisation of DSR, which includes training, demonstration of DSR in farmer’s field, on farm trial related to various potential problems faced by farmers and exposure visit of farmers to field. Coordination is also required within the different disciplines/specializations, between institutions and departments as well as functional areas like research, extension and training along with people’s participation and new thrust on participatory research and development to bring farmers in the framework of interactions at all levels. With the increase in prices of inputs and low rice prices, rice production does not provide farmers with high income. Rice food security needs clear national policy that allows right investment in all phases of rice development. There must be right policies on input availability, output marketing and prices. The following paper tries to look into the issues affecting DSR adoption and suggests extension strategies to popularise it.

Trends of Pulses Production: A Study on Current Scenario and Strategies in India with Special Reference to Bihar

Bihar is one of the important pulse growing state of India with productivity of 839.3 kg/ha in 2010-11 which is projected to attain 1461.3 kg/ha by 2050-51, highest in eastern India. With nearly 2.2 million ha of rice fallows, a small technological intervention can transform the ricefallow to rice-gram or rice-lentil system bringing about pulse revolution. The present study tries to review and analyze the current policy environment and suggests ways and means to improve the pulses production scenario in the country. It advocates, the need to diversify from cereal–based cropping systems to pulses-based cropping system with certain policy decisions like identification of additional rice fallow lands largely in Eastern India, crop diversification, improving seed replacement rate, improved crop production techniques etc. Study also suggests that provisions should be made for easy credit, insurance, attractive Minimum Support Price (MSP) with procurement and appropriate incentives for pulse producers as well as creating necessary infrastructure for processing, marketing and value-addition. This paper analyses status of pulse crop in India as whole and Bihar in particular along with paradigm shift required in policy decision, pulse research, technology generation and dissemination, commercialization along with capacity building of farmers and frontier areas of research and extension.

Trends of Pulses Production, Consumption and Import in India: Current Scenario and Strategies

Though India is the largest producer (around 25% of global production), it however, consumes 27% and imports around 14% of its pulses requirements. The yield of pulses in India is quite low at 781 kg/ha which might be due to policy neglect. The post green revolution era saw a sharp decline in per capita production and availability of pulses with record 4.0 million tones imports of pulses in 2012-13.Bihar is one of the important pulse growing state of India with productivity of 839.3 Kg/ha in 2010-11 which is projected to attain 1461.3 kg/ha by 2050-51, highest in eastern India. With nearly 2.2 million ha of rice fallows, a small technological intervention can transform the rice- fallow to rice-gram or rice-lentil system bringing about pulse revolution. Need is to diversify from cereal–based cropping systems to pulses-based cropping system with certain policy decision like identification of additional rice fallow lands largely in Eastern India, crop diversification, improving seed replacement rate, improved crop production techniques etc.Provisions should be made for easy credit, insurance, attractive Minimum Support Price (MSP) with procurement and appropriate incentives for pulse producers as well as creating necessary infrastructure for processing, marketing and value-addition. This paper analyses status of pulse crop in India as whole and Bihar in particular along with paradigm shift required in policy decision, pulse research, technology generation and dissemination, commercialization along with capacity building of farmers and frontier areas of research and extension.