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Decline in area, output under sorghum

Our Bureau

HYDERABAD, May 6

THE area under sorghum in the country has declined from 18.4 million hectares in 1961 to 10.52 million hectares in 1999-2000.

Despite a steep fall in the area, the production of sorghum during this period had declined marginally from 9.81 million tonnes to 8.7 mt due to an increase in its productivity from 533 kg to 826 kg per hectare.

Nevertheless, the Deputy Director of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Dr Mangal Rai, has called upon the scientists to make efforts for further increase the productivity of sorghum and also popularise it as a food product and as well as feed for animals and poultry.

Inaugurating the All-India Coordinated Sorghum Improvement Project Annual Group Meeting at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture here on Saturday, Dr Rai also pointed out that the patents clause in Trade Related Intellectual Property Rig hts (TRIPS) was a major impediment in getting access to the genetic resources.

The Vice-Chancellor of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Dr I.V. Subba Rao, said sorghum was one crop that could tackle the problem of malnutrition and provide food and nutritional security to those below poverty line.

He emphasised the need for post-harvest research and going in for value-added products as starch, glucose, alcohol, sugar and malt so to increase the demand for sorghum. He informed that ANGRAU had so far released one hybrid and nine high-yielding variet ies in sorghum.