Date:01/12/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/12/01/stories/2005120106250500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Ragi, maize not getting enough attention: ex-VC

Staff Reporter

`Too much focus on rice and wheat and neglect of others is eroding regional food security'

BANGALORE: Too much focus on rice and wheat and undermining the potential of ragi, maize and other grain is eroding regional food security, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Bisilaiah said here on Wednesday.

Prof. Bisiliah, who is Chairman of the Karnataka State Agriculture Price Commission, told delegates at a seminar on: `Cultivation, production, procurement and implementation of minimum support price for toor, ragi and forward trading of maize' that everywhere the thinking was veering round the idea of increasing and improving accessibility to food resources as the best way to ensure food security. But the over-emphasis on purchase and distribution of conventional foodgrains meant that the poor farmers in the State ended up paying the high costs of policies that support the rich and high-volume producers.

Prof. Bisilaiah said with Karnataka being the top producer of maize, apart from the fact that the UAS had built up a vast body of data on ragi and ragi products that had been ready for transfer on field since two decades indicated the immense potential alternative staple grain had in schemes like the midday meal to provide cheap, nutritious food accessed locally. In fact, the UAS had developed a range of 15 products made from ragi. But there had been no action from the Government, or a policy response that acknowledged the potential these products had of adding nutrition value, as well as income generation, he said.

Inaugurating the seminar, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister H.S. Mahadeva Prasad said the present PDS was heavily loaded in favour of cereals like rice and wheat, and did not take into consideration the huge potential in terms of availability of coarse grain. The aim of the minimum support price operation was to provide the right price to farmers and to procure grain needed for meeting the requirement for PDS.