Project Reports

Agro products includea broad all-inclusive category of products related to agriculture. Cereals and pulses are an integral part of our lives, as they are the only food products that provide instant energy.Grainsor cereal grains are grasses whose grain (generally from families Poaceae or Gramineae) in the form of rice, wheat ,maize, barley, oats , rye, buckwheat and sorghum constitutes a majority of daily sustenance. Cereal grains provide more food energy they are therefore staple crops. In their natural form (as in whole grain), they are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats and oils, and protein.Usually ground into flour, these grains provide bread, pasta, and other staple carbohydrates essential to nutrition. On the other hand pulses are leguminous species producing edible seeds.India is the world's largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses. Pulses find a prominent place in Indian meals and remain a primary source of protein for the majority of population in the country. The country grows a variety of pulses crops such as peas, lentils, urad, tur, moong, yellow peas, chicken pea, pigeon pea and beans under different agro-climatic conditions, and is recognized globally as a major player contributing around 25 per cent of the world’s production.

Agriculture is one of the strongholds of the Indian economy and accounts for 18.5 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). India has become the world's largest producer across a range of commodities due to its favourable agro-climatic conditions and rich natural resource base. India's exports of agricultural and processed food products posted a 38 per cent increase in the 2007–08 fiscal, bolstered by an increase in shipments of coarse cereals like maize, jowar and barley. Foodgrains output touched 230.67 million tonnes (MT) mark, comprising record output of wheat (78.4 MT), rice (96.43 MT) and pulses (15.11 MT). Coarse cereals production was an all-time-high of 40.73 MT, along with oilseeds at 28.82 MT. Since there is a gap between demand for rice and its availability in India, the government has cut the import duty by 80%.Demand for healthier cereal grains is increasing due to changing consumer preferences.

Despite being the largest producer of the largest varieties of cereal grains and pulses, the demand for consumption of is just growing owing to a large increase in population. Processing of cereal grains and pulses has a bright future ahead.