CInI started discussing food deficiency issues in detail with its partners, and found that there is a maize based food deficiency with an approximation of 6 -7months (Gross nutritional deficiency has been estimated to be 30% to 40%), as explored by the partners in their various periodic studies. This fact also got substantiated later with CInI and partners’ ‘Gap analysis study’ done for understanding the gap in existing cultivation practices of tribals and for productivity estimation. The study showed that the average productivity range, from traditional practice, is coming to 5 to 6 qt per acre, for an average household size of 6.4, which is a situation 6 to 7 months behind year round food sufficient situation. Fact of food deficiency also gets substantiated, with one of the finding of CInI’s Maize Market Study in KMS Districts, which revealed that many tribal families sell their maize produce, in small quantities, in order to get some cash in hand to meet out the expenses of daily life. Thus they loose on an average 3 to 4 months food sufficiency. 

 

With this problem, statements of ‘food deficient situation in maize growing tribal areas of western India ’ and ‘ignorance of tapping the market potential’, CInI started working and further analyzing the issue, along with its partners. The causal analysis done for the problems, suggested that the

 

Causality for 1:

·         Low Productivity due to very low seed replacement rate

·         Low Productivity due to Inefficient  cultivation practice

·         Low Productivity due to climate variability (chiefly rainfall)

·         No support irrigation during dry spells and drought

·         Soil deficient in nutrients (poor soil health) and inefficient soil profile

 

Causality for 2:

·         No or minimum knowledge of market

·         Poor knowledge of techniques to produce products with higher market demands.

·         Productions very low to give surplus for markets