Potential of maize crop for sustainable agriculture in Punjab Sidana Baljinder Kaur*, Priscilla Laishram, Kaur Gurleen, Vatta Kamal Department of Economics & Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India *Corresponding author email: baljindersidana@pau.edu
Online Published on 26 February, 2024. Abstract The present study was conducted to see the potential of maize crop for sustainable agriculture in Punjab. The secondary data was collected from the year 1950-51 to 2022-23 to analyze the trends in maize area, production and yield of Punjab. In order to depict the better growth trends, the overall study was divided into pre-green revolution, green revolution, post-green revolution, liberalization period and neo-liberalization period. The area under maize stands at 0.93 lakh ha in 2022-23, a decline of more than 83 percent compared to 1970-71. The area and production of the maize crop has declined significantly over the years. The yield of crop, on the other hand has shown a significant positive growth owing to the introduction of hybrid varieties. The district wise scenario revealed that a good number of districts registered high growth rate (>4.0%) in area under maize crop during pre-green revolution period but with the passage of time except Roopnagar and Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (SAS) districts, all the districts shifted to negative growth rate. For the ex-ante evaluation of maize, PMH 14 variety of maize has been selected in comparison to PMH 1 variety to estimate the economic surplus over 8 years (2023-2030). The findings of the economic surplus estimation of newly released variety PMH 14 suggests that assuming maximum adoption rates of five percent and ten percent, the total surplus generated will be Rs 42 crores and Rs 84 crores, respectively. Considering the potential of maize as an alternative for paddy in Punjab, the study suggests assured market for maize crop is the only key for diversification, Regular extension services should be provided to maize growers, Establishment of maize based agro industries in Punjab is the need of hour for better marketing and high prices for farmers and in addition it also generate employment in the state. Top Keywords Maize, Potential, Liberalization, Variety, Economic surplus. Top |