GM Seeds
India needs GM seeds to meet growing domestic demand for maize, says panel
This story was originally published at 19:01 IST on 27 March 2025
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NEW DELHI – India will need genetically modified seeds to meet the growing domestic demand for maize, as the country's consumption is increasing at a rapid rate of nearly 6% annually, according to a panel of experts at the Maize and Millet Summit 2025.
This growth has been driven by increasing demand across poultry and cattle feed sector, as well as rising needs for starch production and ethanol manufacturing for fuel blending. "All three sectors that use maize are growing rapidly. Ethanol blending is expected to rise, poultry consumption is increasing as the country shifts toward a protein-based diet. On the lower average, the demand is rising by at least 6% per year," said Sumit Gupta, director at Waseda global, during the panel discussion.
According to Gupta, India is likely to require at least 2.4 million tonnes of maize annually. However, even as the demand rises, "supply is drastically elastic" he noted. "India needs to seriously work in increasing its yield per hectare if it wants to raise the production," he said. For this, India will "sooner or later" need to import genetically modified seeds, said Atul Chaturvedi, chairman of Asian Palm Oil Alliance and the executive chairman of Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd.
The panel also expressed concern about maize overtaking other crops as its demand grows. "Food or fuel is the question on everyone's mind right now. India may have to choose between pulses-oilseeds and poultry. With maize giving good returns, commodities such as soybean and wheat have already been affected," Gupta said.
The panel concluded that even though there may be a need for genetically modified maize to be brought in, the government is unlikely to allow it for at least the next five years. "Allowing genetically modified seeds to come in would be counterproductive to the government's 'atamnirbhar' scheme," said Manish Gupta, managing director of Gujarat Ambuja Exports Ltd.
The government's decision to produce ethanol from maize did not factor in the devastating impact it would have on sectors such as poultry, starch, and oilseeds, Chaturvedi said.
Maize production in India rose to 38.1 million tonnes in crop year 2022-23 from 31.6 million tonnes in 2021-22, and slightly fell to 37.7 million tonnes in 2023-24. In the current year, the kharif maize production is projected at 24.8 million tonnes, with rabi production estimated at 12.4 million tonnes. The government is yet to release its summer maize production forecast.
Despite the increase in maize production, India still has a long way to go--the country's productivity is less than half the global average. While India's productivity stands at 3.2 tonnes per hectare, the global average is 5.5 tonnes. In comparison, the US, the world's largest maize producer, has a productivity of over 10 tonnes per hectare. End
Reported by Pallavi Singhal
Edited by Subhojit Sarkar
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