New Delhi, Sep 4 : India has made remarkable progress in reducing its dependence on imported pulses, cutting imports from 6.61 million tonnes (MT) in 2016-17 to 2.496 MT by 2022-23, largely due to government initiatives like increasing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for key pulse crops. This has encouraged farmers to expand cultivation, with the area under pulses rising by 26.6% between 2014-15 and 2017-18. Pulse production surged from 17.15 MT to 27.302 MT during this period, marking the highest Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.87% recorded so far. However, the 2023-24 fiscal year saw a spike in import dependency caused by the El Niño weather event, which damaged domestic crops.To achieve full self-sufficiency, the NITI Aayog report emphasizes a three-pronged approach focusing on value addition and reducing post-harvest losses, expanding cultivation areas, and improving productivity. Utilizing just a third of rice fallow lands across 10 states, intercropping pulses with sugarcane, and optimizing rice-wheat cropping systems could unlock an additional 8.05 MT of pulse production. These strategies would not only boost domestic output but also enhance farmer incomes and strengthen agricultural resilience.The report highlights the critical need for sustainable pulse cultivation through managing abiotic and biotic stresses like drought, heat, pests, and diseases. India’s vast genetic diversity in pulses, preserved by ICAR’s National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, remains underutilized. Modern breeding techniques, including genomics, can accelerate varietal development to improve yields and stress tolerance. Increasing the Varietal Replacement Rate (VRR) through effective seed distribution and farmer outreach is essential for adopting improved varieties at the grassroots level.Finally, reducing post-harvest losses caused by grain shattering, spillage, and mishandling is key to improving the pulse value chain’s efficiency. Advanced technologies and best practices can minimize these losses, ensuring better availability and profitability. While recent growth trends in pulse production (2.5% CAGR) may meet population-based demand, the High-Income Growth scenario demands a sharper 6.69% CAGR until 2030. Long-term self-sufficiency by 2047 will require sustained efforts with a CAGR of 2.7%, according to the report.
