An Assessment of Maize and its Value Chain in Bihar

Abstract

Background: Maize also known as Zea mays L. is a popular crop in most of the developing countries and cultivated across the world because of its nutritional benefits and its multiple use. Bihar is one of the major maize growing states in India. An analysis of production and its value chain will help the state in providing the further direction for policy making. Methods: The current study explores the status of maize production in Bihar in terms of growth rate and instability index based on the available secondary data for maize production in Bihar from 2000-2021. It also develops a framework of its value chain in the state based on the available secondary related to its inputs and production. Result: The study identifies that the production and yield of maize crop in Bihar have a positive growth trend with a instability ranging between low to medium in case of rabi and summer maize which shows that it is a promising crop in Bihar for improving the income of the farmers. The analysis of the maize value chain reveals that the cost of cultivation of maize in Bihar is ₹56047.96 per hectare whereas the cost of production is ₹1412.98, the major actors in the value chain includes small and marginal farmers, private agro dealers, Krishi Vikash Kendra (KVKs), ATMA, state and central agricultural universities and BRLPS along with Farmer Producing organisation.