The growth in rice consumption has either slowed down or become negative in all the continents although additional per capita demand for rice exists in Africa. The future additional rice demand will mainly come from the population growth in Africa and Asia. The production growth during the past led by growth in yield has helped in meeting rice demand around the globe. However, Africa continues to lag far behind other continents in achieving the desired level of yield. Additional research efforts are needed in all continents for the production of varieties with higher yield potential and desired grain quality with more emphasis on the African continent. The global demand for rice will be about 584 million tons or less towards 2050. With positive technological developments in the rice research arena, the shape of rice agriculture will change towards 2050. Asia may lose about 5 million ha and Africa gain about 10 million ha of rice land by 2050.

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This paper presents the biophysical impact of various interventions made under watershed development programs, in terms of the creation of additional water resources, and resultant changes in land use and cropping patterns in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh State, India. Both primary and secondary data gathered from randomly selected watersheds and their corresponding control villages were used in this study. Analysis revealed that emphasis was given primarily to the creation of water resources potential during implementation of the programs, which led to augmentation of surface and groundwater availability for both irrigation and non-agricultural purposes. In addition, other land based interventions for soil and moisture conservation, plantation activities, and so forth, were taken up on both arable and nonarable land, which helped to improve land slope and land use, cropping pattern, agricultural productivity, and vegetation cover.

Bundelkhand region contributes more than half of total pulse area of the Uttar Pradesh state but the productivity is below the state average, which calls for various technological interventions, development of infrastructure and marketing strategies. This study assessed the profitability of pulse cultivation, identified the constraints and suggested policy measures using the data collected during 2016-2017 from 100 pulse growers selected from two backward districts of Bundelkhand region, namely Jalaun and Hamirpur. Growth in area, production and yield was estimated using data for 1980-2015 through compound annual growth rate and the highest growth was observed during 1980-1990 period. Modern cost concepts were used to assess the profitability of pulse cultivation and results revealed that the cost of cultivation per hectare was significantly higher in pigeon pea in comparison to gram, pea and lentil crops. The marketing charges paid by the village trader, wholesaler and retailer ranged between INR 20 to INR 40 per quintal for different crops. It was also observed that the quantum of marketable surplus and its percentage share to total production in pigeon pea, gram and lentil increased with the increase in size of land holding. The pulse production in the region faced with constraints related to production, processing and marketing. Hence, technologies and infrastructure need to be embraced through suitable policies to favour farmers, so as to maintain balance and keep the interest of both producers and the consumers.

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