- The Global Maize Programme which is a part of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre, and is financially backed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has undertaken a 5-yr project namely ‘Heat Stress Resilient Maize’ to develop tolerant and high-yielding maize varieties specifically suitable for South Asian climatic conditions.
- This is to tackle the problems of growing demands and the changing climatic conditions.
- A 2°C rise in temperature decreases the Maize yields by nearly 13%, and increased frequency of droughts and changes in climatic conditions have underscored the importance of devp of these varieties.
- This will also bridge the gap between the yield and consumption that had resulted due to the demand-supply gap. The production needs to be doubled by 2050 to meet the growing global demand.
- 80% of maize in India is used for feed and 20% for consumption, while in China it is the other way around. In China, maize production and consumption has surpassed that of rice.
- Participating universities in the project:
- The University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Banglaore.
- Purdue University in the U.S.
- Bihar Agriculture University in Sabour, Bhagalpur.
- Maize and Millets Research Institute of Pakistan .
- Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute.
- National Maize Research Institute of Nepal.
- Read at:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/as-india-consumes-more-and-more-maize-search-on-for-better-varieties/article6239343.ece