SHILLONG, Nov 5 ? The MS Swaminathan Research Foundation has said that the foodgrain production in the gross cropped area in Meghalaya has declined over the past decade, coming down from 57.27 per cent in the triennium ending 1990 to 51.32 per cent in the next ending 2000.
The Chennai-based foundation, in its discussion paper for Meghalaya on the 'mission 2007 initiative for hunger-free India' said that share of wheats and coarse cereals has also declined and more significantly rice production has decreased by about 4.61 per cent. The place of foodgrains has been taken by vegetables which saw an increase.
Terming Meghalaya as a deficit state for cereal production, the study said that the average per capita net production of cereal was only 5.85 kg per month for the triennium ending 1999-2000 compared to the requirement norm of 12.65 kg.
As against this, the per capital average consumption was 11.58 kg per month in rural areas and 10.65 kg per month in urban areas in the year 1999-2000. So there was a scope for hunger in rural Meghalaya while urban people seemed to eat quite well, the paper said.