General Status and Trend in Population and Food Production

General Status and Trends in Population and Food Production
  • Current Indian population: 116 crores, it will reach to 130 and 166 crores by 2025 and 2050 AD, respectively.
  • We need to produce food grain of 320 and 350 m t by 2025 and 2050 A D, respectively. Current food grain production is 210 m t.
  • India has 17 % of the world’s population and 15 % of livestock but, has only 2.4 %of the geographical area, 4 % of the fresh water, 1 % of rainfall, 0.5 % of forest and 0.5 % of grazing land of the world.
  • 17 % more water is required by 2020 AD.
  • By 2050 AD global population will be 9.4 billion (42 % increase).
  • Growth rate of agriculture (1.5 %) is much lower than population growth (2%).
  • Net cultivated area in India: 142.8 m ha. It will decline to 137 m ha by 2050 AD.
  • 65 % of the population still relies on agriculture for employment and livelihood.
  • Agriculture support 58 % of the total working force.
  • Agriculture contributes 18 % to GDP.
  • 973 million people are undernourished in the world.
  • 800 m people living below the poverty line in the world and half of them in South Asia and majority of them in India (FAO).
  • 270 m ha area in the world is irrigated area, which consumes 70 % of the world’s total human-induced water consumption.
  • Before 1970’s –ship to mouth stage (PL-480: wheat import during 1960).
  • Annual agril. Production, which was 0.3 % during 1900 to 1950, jumped to 3.3 % during 1960-70 but the growth became reduced to 1.43 % during 1990-98 compared to the population growth of 18 % during the same period.
  • India became the 4th largest fertilizer producing country.
 

Borloug

 
  • Fertilizer consumption increased from 0.52 kg/ha during 1950-51 to 94.72 kg/ha during 1999-2000.
  • During 2001-02: 18 m t fertilizer was used but the crop removed 28 m t.
  • During 2006 total fertilizer consumption from chemical fertilizer was 20.4 m t.
  • Country’s nutrient requirement will be 45 m t by 2020 AD to produce the food grain required by the population.
  • Before 1960 none of the micronutrient (MN) deficiencies were found.
  • During 1960: Only Fe was found defiant.
  • During 1999: Five MN (Mo, Bo, Mn, Zn and Fe) noticed deficient.
  • During 2003: Eight MN’s were found deficient.
  • Now: Ten MN’s are found deficient.
  • Karnataka stood first in Zn (78%), Fe (39%) and Bo (32%) deficiencies.
  • Combined effect of high yielding var., fertilizers, irrigation and monocropping mined more nutrients from the soil.
  • In the beginning of the green revolution a kilo of chemical fertilizer yielded 15-16 kg of grains. The same is now declined to 4-5 kg.
  • Nations wealth is measured based on the fertility of its soil.
  • According to Indian standards nitrates in soil should not exceed 45 mg/litre (carcinogenic & affects central nervous system, methaemoglobinaemia: blue baby disease).
  • Phosphates concentration in the water encourages weed growth (Eutrophication).
  • Consumption of pesticide: 1954 =434 tonnes.
  • 1984=64,290 tonnes.
  • But, pests and diseases multiplied four fold.
    • The problem of pests and diseases became ten times more severe compared to 1950, after the synthetic pesticides became in use.
    • In 1990, cotton crop occupied only 5% of the area but consumed 54% of the total pesticides. Rice received highest pesticide next only to cotton.
    • Use of pesticide was more popular in agriculture with the invention of DDT (Paul Muller who got Noble prize in 1939).
    • Each year 25 million people in developing countries suffer from pesticide poisoning.
 

"Green Revolution provided food for millions of hungry people but left many unseen miseries of fauna and flora on the land and in water”

Eutrophication: It is the process of enrichment of surface water bodies like lakes, reservoirs and streams with nutrients. Nutrient enrichment of water bodies results in intense proliferation and accumulation of algae and higher aquatic plants in excessive quantities that can result in detrimental changes in water quality and can significantly interfere with the use of water resources.

    • About 60 % of our agricultural land currently under cultivation suffers from indiscriminate use of irrigation water and chemical fertilizers.
    • The gravity of environmental degradation resulting from faulty agricultural practices has caused alarming concern among the farmers, scientists and conservationists.
Last modified: Tuesday, 8 November 2011, 9:37 AM