New Delhi,Mar 30: A renowned agriculture scientist has warned India's food security will become unsustainable unless output is doubled to over 400 million tonnes in 10 years. This acceleration will have to come despite diminishing land resources, increasing biotic and abiotic stresses, natural shrinkage and degradation, climate change, rising input cost, loss of bio-diversity and burgeoning population, the scientist, R S Paroda said in his new publication. Against the projected requirement of 230 million tonne foodgrains by 2002 in Paroda's book "Sustaining Our Food Security", actual output this year is likely to be only 191 million tonnes. Paroda, a former Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has made the projection keeping in view the rate of population, income, demand of food, fodder, seed, industrial and other uses.
In a compilation of his lectures and papers, Paroda cautions that the targets will not be achievable unless major support is given to rainfed areas particularly in east India and other unfavourable regions where technological, socio-economic and infrastructure bottlenecks exist. Bureau Report