Centre to include fodder and coarse cereals in NFSM

NEW DELHI: At a time when drought looms large over one-third part of the country, the centre has introduce cultivation of fodder and coarse cereals under National Food Security Mission (NFSM) in the XII five year plan, starting this year. This will help the country to secure feed for livestock which is badly affected in the drought like situation.

The centre has allocated over Rs 1,800 crore to states under NFSM this year to raise food grains output by 25 million tonnes. NFSM was implemented in the XI five year plan with the target to raise rice production by 10 million tones, wheat by 8 million tonnes and pulses by 2 million tonnes.

Among the states, Uttar Pradesh gets the maximum amount at Rs 276.9 crore, followed by Madhya Pradesh Rs 226.87 crore and Maharashtra Rs 196 crore. Other major beneficiaries included Andhra Pradesh (Rs 142.64 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 135.95 cr), Karnataka (Rs 104.83 cr) and Bihar (Rs 97.87 cr).

NFSM has taken a focussed approach to raise productivity of these crops through various location-specific interventions. These include providing incentives to farmers to adopt improved inputs and technology packages suiting local soil and climatic conditions.