Editorial
Besides the fact that Maize, a cereal famous as “Queen of Cereals”, has good potential to promote development of farming household and overall rural economy through improving the level of nutrition for both human beings and livestock [1] and its linkages towards industries , livestock economy [1-3] and trade, maize economy scenario in Bihar has not been satisfactory in recent years. A regional shift in production has been observed from north to south. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were the major maize producing states in 1990s, but during the past two decades, southern states, especially Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, have become the major maize-producing states [4] and role of Bihar in India’s maize production is shrinking. However, promotion of maize economy can be a passive side route to the development of agriculture and overall rural economy of Bihar.
Bihar is one of the traditional maize-growing states in India. Maize is the third most important food grain crop in Bihar. Presently, Bihar is the third largest producer of maize in India, and contributing about 8 per cent to the Indian maize production of 22.26 million tonnes (Mt) in 2012-13. Maize yield in Bihar was lower than West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, besides the fact that more than 65 percent of total area (second largest) used for maize cultivation in Bihar is irrigated. Though, maize is cultivated in almost all districts and in all types of agro-ecological regions of Bihar. However, 11-13 districts together account for more than three-fourths of maize area as well as production of the state, mainly fall in the agro-climatic zones I and II (Table 1). These districts are historically flood-prone areas during rainy season and fall north of the Ganges, having several seasonal river tributaries. Also, only seven districts, viz. Begusarai, Khagaria, East Champaran, Bhagalpur, Madhepura, Saharsa and Samastipur constitute about half of the total maize acreage in the state, and six districts, viz. Madhepura, Khagaria, Saharsa, Bhagalpur, East Champaran, Katihar, together account for over 50 per cent of the total maize production (Table 2). Overview of disaggregate level data shows three different maize production scenario existing in Bihar: 1. districts having large area under maize production with comparatively high production and high productivity (Such as Madhepura, Saharsa, Bhagalpur, etc.), 2, districts having comparatively larger area under maize cultivation with comparatively low productivity (such as Begusarai, Vaishali, Purnea, Samastipur, etc.) and 3, districts having small area under maize production with high productivity (Such as Arwal, Madhubani, Kishanganj, Sitamarhi, etc. (Table 3).
Agro-eco-sub-region ecosystem
Districts
Soil type
Rainfall
Temperature
Share in Total Maize production
Productivity
Share in Total Maize Acreage
Max.
Min.
Agro- climatic zone I
(Northern West)West Champaran, East Champaran, Siwan, Saran, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Gopalganj, Begusarai
Loam and sandy loam.
1200-1700 mms
36.6
7.7
36.4
2.98
45.2
Agro-climatic Zone II (Northern East)
Purnea, Katihar, Saharsa, Supaul, Madhepura,
Khagaria, Araria, Kishanganj.Loam and clay loam.
1200-1700 mms
33.8
8.8
48.4
4.60
38.7
Agro-climatic zone IIIA
(Southern East)Sheikhpura, Munger, Jamui, Lakhisarai, Bhagalpur, Banka.
Sandy loam, loam, clay and clay loam.
990-1300 mms
37.1
7.8
11.6
3.78
11.3
Agro-climatic zone IIIB
(Southern West)Rohtas, Bhojpur, Buxar, Bhabhua, Arwal, Patna, Nalanda, Nawada, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Gaya.
3.2
2.60
4.7
Source: Author’s Calculation.
Table 1: Agro-ecological regions, soil types, average rainfall and mean temperature and Maize Economy in maize-growing Districts in Bihar (2011-12).
Category
Districts
High maze productivity Districts (Maize grain yield:>4 t/ha)
Madhepura, Saharsa, Khagaria, Sitamarhi, Supaul, Bhagalpur, Araria and Katihar constituting about 40 per cent of total maize area in the state
Medium maze productivity Districts (Maize grain yield:2-4 t/ha)
Nalanda,Banka, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran,Arwal,Lakhisarai, West Champaran, Madhubani ,Siwan,Vaishali,Kishanganj,Samastipur,Gopalganj, Nawada,Sheohar, ,Saran,Darbhanga,Jehanabad, Purnea, Jamui, Kaimur, Begusarai, Gaya, Rohtas, Patna, Buxar and Sheikhpuraconstituting about 48 per cent of total maize area in the state.
Low maze productivity Districts (Maize grain yield >2 t/ha)
Bhojpur, Munger and Aurangabad representing about 2 per cent
of total maize area in the state.Source: Author’s Calculation.
Table 2: List of Districts according to Productivity of Maize (2011-12).
Rank
Area Share
Production Share
Productivity
Rank
Area Share
Production Share
Productivity
1
Begusarai
Madhepura
Madhepura
20
Patna
Lakhisarai
Samastipur
2
Khagaria
Khagaria
Saharsa
21
Lakhisarai
Sitamarhi
Gopalgan
3
East Champaran
Saharsa
Khagaria
22
Nalanda
Nalanda
Nawada
4
Bhagalpur
Bhagalpur
Sitamarhi
23
Sitamarhi
Patna
Sheohar
5
Madhepura
East Champaran
Supaul
24
Gaya
Gaya
Saran
6
Saharsa
Katihar
Bhagalpur
25
Munger
Bhojpur
Darbhanga
7
Samastipur
Begusarai
Araria
26
Bhojpur
Munger
Jehanabad
8
Purnea
Samastipur
Katihar
27
Jamui
Jamui
Purnea
9
Katihar
Araria
Nalanda
28
Kishanganj
Kishanganj
Jamui
10
Vaishali
Purnea
Banka
29
Nawada
Nawada
Kaimur
11
Saran
Vaishali
Muzaffarpur
30
Buxar
Buxar
Begusarai
12
Araria
Muzaffarpur
East Champaran
31
Sheohar
Sheohar
Gaya
13
Muzaffarpur
Saran
Arwal
32
Jehanabad
Arwal
Rohtas
14
Darbhanga
Supaul
Lakhisarai
33
Madhubani
Jehanabad
Patna
15
Siwan
Darbhanga
West Champaran
34
Arwal
Madhubani
Buxar
16
Gopalgan
Siwan
Madhubani
35
Aurangabad
Aurangabad
Sheikhpura
17
Supaul
Banka
Siwan
36
Sheikhpura
Kaimur
Bhojpur
18
Banka
Gopalgan
Vaishali
37
Kaimur
Rohtas
Munger
19
West Champaran
West Champaran
Kishanganj
38
Rohtas
Sheikhpura
Aurangabad
Source: Author’s Calculation.
Table 3: List of Rank wise Districts as per respective share in Maize Acreage, Production Share in Bihar and Productivity (2011-12).
Agro- climatic zone wise data reflects that association between maize production, poultry & fisheries (Table 4) is not satisfactory in agro- climatic zones II and III. Comparison of the level of diversification towards maize in different agro- climatic zones shows that diversification is low in agro- climatic zone I besides the fact that this zone is similar in nature to zone II. Effect of maize on nutrition is also not very significant in Bihar as most of the districts of zone I and zone II are facing high infant mortality problem in Bihar (Table 5). This problem is more severe in the zone II, where per capita maize availability is highest among all zones and negates the relationship between nutrition and maize in Bihar.
Per 1000 population
Agro-eco-sub-region ecosystem
Percentages of area under maize production in total net cropped area
cow
Buffalo
Pig
Sheep
Goat
Poultry
Fish
Production
Per Capita Maize Availability per one lakh population
Population density
Agro- climatic zone I
13.8
79
54
3
0
97
83
0.004
1.94
1335
Agro-climatic Zone II
22.67
191
70
6
2
196
30
0.004
6.47
1013
Agro-climatic zone IIIA
19.21
182
57
5
2
125
36
0.003
2.95
730
Agro-climatic zone IIIB
2.11
94
75
10
6
61
58
0.003
0.29
980
Source: Author’s Calculation.
Table 4: Maize and Livestock Economy in Different Agro-Eco-Sub Region Ecosystem (2011-12).
District
Respective rank as per IMR*
Respective rank as per share in maize production in the state **
District
Respective rank as per IMR *
Respective rank as per share in maize production in the state **
Araria
28
9
Madhubani
20
34
Aurangabad
3
35
Munger
12
26
Banka
5
17
Muzaffarpur
30
12
Begusarai
2
7
Nalanda
13
22
Bhagalpur
16
4
Nawada
7
29
Bhojpur
4
25
Patna
1
23
Buxar
22
30
Purnea
32
10
Darbhanga
10
15
Rohtas
14
37
E. Champaran
23
5
Saharsa
33
3
Gaya
19
24
Samastipur
21
8
Gopalganj
11
18
Saran
18
13
Jamui
26
27
Sheikhpura
29
38
Jehanabad
17
33
Sheohar
8
31
Kaimur
24
36
Sitamarhi
36
21
Katihar
27
6
Siwan
6
16
Khagaria
35
2
Supaul
34
14
Kishanganj
31
28
Vaishali
9
11
Lakhisarai
15
20
W. Champaran
25
19
Madhepura
37
1
Note: * Rank 1 represents lowest IMR in Bihar. ** Rank 1 shows highest share in maize production in Bihar.
Source: Author’s Calculation.
Table 5: List of Rank wise Districts as per respective share in Maize Production in Bihar and Infant Mortality Rate (2011-12).
Risks including price risk (e.g., the risk that the price that they receive for their output will be higher or lower than average in a given year), yield risk (e.g., the risk that a pest infestation or drought or flood will cause yields to be lower than average), input supply risk (e.g., the risk of a water shortage or a labour shortage at a critical point in the production process) and other types of risks (e.g., the risk of a family member getting sick or a tractor breaking down) [5] affects the farm economy. The types of risk and constraints the farmer faces are not just macroeconomic; they often take the form of limited availability of inputs, such as fertilizer, water, labour, or capital. Here, it is important to understand how macroeconomic factors including land, labour, capital and product market can explain the unsatisfactory association between maize production, poultry & fisheries in Bihar in general and agro- climatic zone II in particular, low level of diversification towards maize production in agro- climatic zone I and III and low linkage between maize and nutrition in overall Bihar in general and zones I and II in particular.
Policy makers have been making frantic efforts to make farming a gainful sector as a source of livelihood in Bihar. Studies are expected to provide valuable benchmark information to regarding maize production dynamics existing in Bihar to enable them consider its production as a viable option. As for farmers who are already cultivating the crop, studies will go a long way in providing information on ways of boosting production and increase profitability. In order to increase the production of maize and its linkages, sound micro and macroeconomic farm policies are needed. These require prior to their formulation, an understanding of the constraints in maize production. This will obviously go a long way in generating employment opportunities, improve livestock economy, improve the food security status and generate additional money for household in general and state in particular.
References
- Chaudhary DP. Corn silage: a nutritious feed for livestock. Directorate of Maize Research. 2011.
- Mohanty S, Alexandratos N, Bruinsma J. The Long-term Food Outlook for India. Technical Report 98-TR 38. Center for Agricultural and Rural Development. 1998.
- Biradar N. Analysis of straw and stover of different crops as a livestock feed by the farmers. Annals of Agricultural Research. 2004; 25: 377-380.
- Gulati A, Dixon J. Maize in Asia: Changing Markets and Incentives. Academic Foundation. 2008.
- Mcnamara KT, Weiss CR. Farm Household Income and On-and-Off Farm
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