Maize and climate change:

Under the changing climate scenario the limitations of rising temperature during grain filling of wheat particularly in eastern India, and declining yield of boro rice in West Bengal and Orissa, water scarcity areas in peninsular India (AP and Tamil Nadu) affecting yield of Rabi rice, maize being a photo-insensitive crop has better options for adaptation and mitigation of these climatic changes. Peninsular India is considered to be a neutral environment for maize wherein maize can be cultivated in either of the seasons. Therefore, it is emerging as a potential driving force for diversification i.e. diversification of rice-rice with rice-maize and other maize based high value cropping systems in water scarcity/lowering of water table is a major concern in rice growing belt of India and making rice cultivation non-remunerative. Hence, maize has emerged as a potential as well as profitable crop in these areas. The rabi rice in Peninsular India and upland rice in Odisha and NEH region has low productivity. Therefore maize is only suitable alternative crop and more area is likely to shift towards maize cultivation in near future in these non-traditional areas. Wheat crop adversely affected with terminal heat due to sudden rise in temperature during crop growth and maturity but this favours maize crop positively. Therefore, in view of the changing farming scenario in the country, maize has been emerging as one of the potential crops that addresses several issues like food and nutritional security, climate change, water scarcity, farming systems, bio-fuel etc. Further, a recent study by National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (NCAP) has showed that there is an increasing demand for maize in the industry sector which caters to consumer needs like textiles, paper, glue, alcohol, confectionery, food processing and pharmaceutical industry etc., of which the demand keeps on increasing with population pressure.