The Retrospect and Prospects of Pearl Millet (Bajra) Cultivation in Punjab

Pearl millet (Bajra) has been an integral part of Punjab's agricultural landscape for decades.However, in recent years, there has been a shift towards the intensive rice-wheat system, which has marginalized pearl millet cultivation.With this background, present study aimed to examine the historical context and future potential of pearl millet cultivation in Punjab.This study was based on secondary data.The results showed that the Punjab's area under pearl millet cultivation has shown a declining trend over the years, with a peak at 207 thousand hectares in 1970-71 but gradually decreased to 0.4 thousand hectares in 2020-21.Pearl millet production in Punjab ranged from 59 thousand tonnes in 1959-60 to 0.26 thousand tonnes in 2020-21, with a significant decline in production over the years.It was observed that the total operational cost of cultivating pearl millet in major states ranges from Rs. 29,000 per ha in Uttar Pradesh to Rs. 59,000 per ha in Maharashtra, whereas in case of Punjab it was on the lower side of this range with Rs. 35,500 per ha.However, human labour and machine labour were the major operational cost in all the major producers whereas in Punjab human labour cost and fertilizer & manure costs were major component of operational costs.Human labour cost was highest because harvesting and threshing of pearl millet is still done manually.Gross returns from pearl millet cultivation in Punjab was about Rs. 12,700 per ha which is too low and the reason for this was due to low average yield (i.e., 6.4 qtl/ha).The crop is currently unprofitable compared to paddy due to low yields.This highlights the fact that Punjab requires high yielding varieties.The average price received on pearl millet sale by Punjab farmers was around Rs. 2000/qtl lesser than MSP announced.State government should procure pearl millet at MSP so that area under pearl millet in Punjab could be increased replacing paddy.