‘India needs 120m tonne rice by 2030’

PUNE: India will need to produce 120 million tonnes of rice in 2030, experts attending a Confederation of Indian Industry conclave in the city on Monday said.
Cultivable land areas are expected to shrink and there will be pressure on resources.
Rice is consumed by 60% of the population regularly. The current production is about 106 million tonnes. Rice is the staple food for more than 60% of Indians.
India needs to produce 120 million tonnes by 2030 to feed its one and a half billion plus population using less land, less water, less manpower and optimising all agri input usages, V Shankar, conference chairman and managing director, Rallis India Limited, said.
Vijay Paul Sharma, chairman, commission for agricultural costs and prices said there is need to strengthen technology, institutional support, infrastructure and incentives.