It is said that there is a change in consumption pattern with people demanding
more fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, poultry and fisheries. This is a good sign for
the consumers as well as producers. Consumers need a diverse food basket and a
balanced diet. Farmers producing foodgrains can go for crop diversification in order
to increase their incomes. You may recall from what we read in the earlier classes
about the conversion of foodgrain fields into cash crops such as cotton in Telangana
during the last two decades. This was one of the reasons for farmer’s distress and
even suicides. Farmers can instead pay attention to allied activities such as
poultry, fishing and dairying since they provide new opportunities for farmers.

Although there has been increase in production of other food items over the
years, it is not sufficient to meet the minimum dietary requirements. Nutritionists
suggest that every person in India should eat 300 grams of vegetables and 100 grams
of fruits in a day whereas per person availability of these food materials is 180 and
58 grams respectively. Similarly per person requirement of eggs is 180 whereas
the availability of eggs is 30. The meat dietary requirements are 11 kilograms per
year whereas the per person availability is only 3.2 kilograms. We require 300
millilitres of milk whereas the per person availability is 210 millilitres a day.

Farmers thus require support in terms of inputs and market opportunities for
diversification to other food items. Farmers may have to be supported and guarded
against market risks that they face in the new situation.