Centre identifies 2 million hectares for mega pulses boost

Farmers will be encouraged to grow tur (arhar), urad, and masur varieties that are imported in large quantities from countries such as Mozambique, Myanmar, Canada, and Australia, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity. The scheme involves the ministries of consumer affairs and agriculture, and the department of land resources.

The two million hectares where pulses will be cultivated is part of a total of four million hectares of watershed land identified for farming. A watershed land is where rainwater collects and flows into a river, stream, or lake. This land has enough moisture contents useful for growing pulses.

Rising prices of pulses is a major contributor to food inflation as production continues to decline even as consumption rises. Government's think tank Niti Aayog has projected that India’s demand for pulses will grow from 26.72 million tonnes (mt) in FY22 to 32.64 mt by FY30.

The country has been relying on imports to meet the shortfall. By expanding domestic cultivation, the government aims to stabilize prices, meet increasing demand and reduce the import bill.

Also read | QCI to conduct random sampling of Bharat rice, atta and pulses

Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation hit a 14-month high of 6.21% in October, up from 5.49% in September, reflecting ongoing price pressures across various sectors, according to data from ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI). Inflation in rural areas at 6.68% was higher than the 5.62% recorded in urban regions.

The watershed areas to grow pulses have been identified in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar and West Bengal, among others.

“The sowing of pulses on these identified lands is expected to start from next kharif season. With this, we are hoping to a have better production forecast for 2025-26 crop season," the second person quoted earlier said.

Also read | India’s pulses imports rise 40% in 2023 as output falls

Queries emailed to the ministries of consumer affairs, agriculture and rural development remained unanswered till press time.

The first of the two people quoted earlier said the land identification process is just an initial part of the comprehensive plan to make India self-reliant in pulses production by 2027. “Farmers will now be encouraged to cultivate pulses such as tur, urad, and masur on these watershed lands. They will receive incentives such as quality seeds, training, and farming equipment."

According to B.B. Singh, former additional director general (pulses), Indian Council of Agriculture Research, using watershed land for pulses cultivation can be a sustainable practice as such areas “often enriched with runoff water and nutrients, provide opportunities to improve soil moisture, especially in rain-fed regions".

But Singh, credited with revolutionizing moong production, cautioned that these initiatives would not sustain “if farmers don't receive a guaranteed price for their produce, like rice and wheat". “If the government assures them that their pulses would be purchased at a fixed price, farmers would start cultivating pulses even on their traditional agricultural lands, which are primarily used for rice and wheat cultivation," he said.

Also read | Racing pulses: Why aren’t dal prices dropping?

The government has set a target to produce nearly 30 mt of pulses, 25% higher than FY24’s target.

The sowing area of pulses in the kharif season of 2024 increased to 128.10 lakh hectares from 119.27 lakh hectares in 2023. The average yearly area in five years through March 2023 was 136.02 lakh hectares.

Area under arhar (tur) rose to 46.50 lakh hectares in 2024 compared with an average of 45.55 lakh hectares and 40.74 lakh hectares in 2023. Urad was sown in 30 lakh hectares, down from 32.60 lakh hectares in 2023.

The targeted higher acreage for pulses in 2024 follows a decline in production over the past three years. Output fell to 24.2 mt in FY24 from 27.3 mt in FY22, according to data from the ministry of agriculture.

As a result, imports surged 89.96% to a record 4.73 mt in FY24, up from 2.49 mt in FY23 due to rising demand and insufficient domestic output, Union minister of state for agriculture & farmers’ welfare Ramnath Thakur said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on 30 July.

And read | How India is building self-reliance in pulses

India imports tur primarily from Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi, and Myanmar; urad from Myanmar and Brazil; and masur from Canada, Australia, Russia, and Türkiye.

The country had signed an MoU with Mozambique for import of 0.2 mt of arhar (tur) annually for five years when the retail prices of tur spiked to ₹200 a kg in 2016. This MoU was extended for another five years in September 2021.

In 2021, the country also inked an MoU with Malawi to import 50,000 tonne tur per annum for next five years. Under a MoU, India is committed to import 0.1 mt of tur and 0.25 mt of urad from Myanmar till 2026.

The ministry of agriculture also implemented the Price Support Scheme under Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) to procure oilseeds, pulses, and copra. And to boost domestic production, the government in June 2023 removed the 40% procurement limit for tur, masoor, and urad for 2023-24 and 2024-25, allowing 100% procurement of these pulses from farmers.