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Mr Mangal Pandey, Minister of Agriculture & Health, Department of Agriculture, Govt of Bihar said that the state government is committed to support the industry coming forward to support the welfare of farmers and agricultural sector.
Addressing the 10th edition of ‘India Maize Summit 2024’, organized by FICCI, Mr Pandey while highlighting the role of maize in food, feed and industrial uses, invited the private sector to come forward to invest in Bihar and avail benefits of various subsidies which have been introduced to boost the agriculture sector. ″The government of Bihar has taken a target of increasing area under maize cultivation to about 10 lakh hectares in the current year,″ he stated.
Mr Pandey further stated that Bihar currently has storage capacity of 5 lakh MT for maize and the government is working to increase the capacity to meet the future demand. The Minister also highlighted the need for good quality maize seed and called upon the seed industry to set-up operations in Bihar to provide good quality maize hybrid seeds to the farmers.
Dr Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt of India highlighted the need to create a vision document for next 10 years indicating sector wise demand of maize for the next decade along with the interventions required to achieve the demand. ″We need to promote area expansion under the summer maize crop which will help in increasing the maize production as well as diversifying from traditional crops such as rice,″ he added.
Mr Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Govt of Bihar said that the state government has implemented several initiatives to promote maize cultivation. ″Under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and state plan, we have facilitated the distribution of subsidized seeds, provided training and capacity building for farmers, and demonstrated advanced farming techniques. Special schemes for the promotion of baby corn and sweet corn are also being undertaken to diversify maize products and increase market opportunities″ he added. Mr Agarwal further stated that the state government plans to promote in-house production of seeds in Bihar and is working on a policy framework in this regard.
Mr Subroto Geed, President, South Asia, Corteva Agriscience, said, "India's maize sector is primed for a revolution, with its potential to significantly enhance productivity, and support the accelerating requirement in feed, fodder, fuel and other industrial applications.″ Maize is also a strong candidate for crop diversification as the focus on sustainable agriculture goes up, he added.
Mr Kaushal Jaiswal, Co-Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee and Managing Director, Rivulis Irrigation India Pvt. Ltd. mentioned that Maize Summit is an effort to bring fore the global and domestic scenario of maize and issues confronting the maize supply chain.
Mr Sunjay Vuppuluri, National Head-Food & Agribusiness Strategic Advisory & Research, YES BANK shared the insights on FICCI-YES BANK knowledge report.
FICCI-YES BANK knowledge report – ‘The Indian Maize Sector – Trends, Challenges & Imperatives for Sustainable Growth’, was released during the session.
Key highlights of the report:
The Indian Maize Sector – Trends, Challenges & Imperatives for Sustainable Growth
Maize is a multifaceted crop with a wide range of uses, including for food, feed, industrial applications, energy, and pharmaceuticals. As a food source, maize is consumed in various forms such as cornmeal, flour, and sweet corn. In addition to its food value, maize is an essential ingredient in animal feed, particularly for poultry and livestock. Its industrial applications are diverse, with maize starch, oil and other derivatives used in the production of food, biodegradable plastics, textiles, paper, and pharmaceuticals. Maize is also used to produce ethanol, a biofuel that is blended with petrol.
In 2022, about 1.17 billion metric tons (MT) of maize was produced, which was 30.9% higher than that of wheat (0.81 billion MT) and 33.8% higher than that of rice (0.78 billion MT). Global maize production has increased from 0.89 billion MT in 2012 to 1.17 billion MT in 2022, growing at a decadal CAGR of 2.9%.
In 2022, USA was the largest producer of maize contributing about 30% of global production followed by China (24%) and Brazil (9%).
Global consumption of maize has grown at a CAGR of 2.3% over a period of 10 years increasing from 988.6 million MT in 2013 to 1236.8 million MT in 2023.
Global exports grew at a decadal CAGR (2013-2023) of 5.1%, increasing from 122.8 million MT in 2013 to 202.1 million MT in 2023.
In 2023, maize prices reached their lowest values since 2021 at USD 223 per MT. Ample supplies from Brazil and competition among exporters underpinned the downward trend.
In 2022, India ranked 4th in global maize acreage and 5th in global production contributing to about 4.9% of acreage and 2.9% of production respectively.
In India, about 22% of maize is consumed directly as food while a major share of production is consumed for industrial usage mainly for animal feed and starch.
Maize productivity in India has increased from 2.6 MT/Ha to 3.5 MT/Ha growing at a decadal CAGR of 3.3% (2012-13 to 2022-23).
Maize is principally grown in two seasons: kharif (75% area) and rabi (20% area), with the average productivity of kharif maize being 2.94 MT/ha and rabi maize 5.36 MT/ha.
India's maize exports have remained inconsistent over the years, fluctuating in between 4.75 million MT in 2013 to 2.31 million MT in 2023 due to changing production patterns and high domestic prices.
India imported USD 8.0 million worth of maize in 2023, primarily from South Africa (74%), the United States (15%), and Argentina (6%).
The key factors driving the growth of the maize ecosystem include increasing demand from the poultry and livestock sectors as well as growing industrial uses such as ethanol production.
Challenges at the farm level include low adoption of hybrid seeds, with only about 30% of the cultivated area under Single Cross hybrids.
Post-harvest handling challenges include poor quality management, leading to moisture content as high as 18%, making the produce susceptible to fungal infection and high aflatoxin levels.
Challenges in the maize processing industry include high raw material costs due to price fluctuations, varietal and quality mismatches, and restrictions on maize imports due to GM regulations.
Key imperatives for sustaining growth of maize sector identified in the report are listed below
Develop a roadmap to scale up maize production and acreage.
Ensure faster and broader adoption of new technologies.
Devise effective extension programs to promote adoption of good agricultural practices.
Strengthen post-harvest infrastructure for building a robust maize supply chain.
Facilitate maize supply security for diverse industry.
Promote private sector investment across the maize value chain through various incentives and schemes.
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