The sustenance of food and nutritional security are the major challenges of the 21st century. The domestic food production needs to increase per annum at the rate of 2% for cereals and 0.6% for oilseeds and pulses to meet the demand by 2030. The Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and the black soil regions (BSR) are the two major food production zones of the country. Since irrigation potetential is limited and expansion of irrigated area is tardy, rainfed agriculture holds promise to satisfy future food needs.

Shifting cultivation is a dominant land use system in humid tropical high lands where steep slopes is a potential barrier for rain water harvesting for agriculture. It is the main stay of the economy of the hill people. As per Ministry of Rural Development, Govt.

Methane is considered as a potent green house gas causing global warming due to photochemical reaction in the atmosphere. Methane emission from the livestock of Maharashtra has been estimated based on number of animal population reported in the live stock census 2003.

At present about 2.5% of agriculture GDP is contributed by rice, earning a foreign exchange of Rs 7000 crores. India also needs production enhancement for feeding soaring population growth. Rice production from irrigated area is almost stagnant. Rainfed area needs to be exploited.