The Centre claims that the country would turn fully self-sufficient in production of pulses in the next 3-4 years, obviating any need for imports thereafter.

This comes even as total pulses output for 2010-11 has touched an all-time-high level of 18.09 million tonnes (mt), according to the 4rd Advance Estimates of crop production for the year released by the Agriculture Ministry here on Tuesday.

The 18.09 mt is much higher than Krishi Bhawan’s earlier two assessments made in April and February and also surpasses the previous record of 14.91 mt achieved in 2003-04.

“We can easily produce 20 mt of pulses by bringing in fallow land under cultivation and through inter-cropping. I don’t think we have to import pulses after 3-4 years”, the Agriculture Secretary, Mr P.K. Basu, told presspersons.

In 2009-10, India imported nearly 3.7 mt of pulses valued at Rs 10,390 crore. Last fiscal, imports fell both in quantitative as well as value terms to 2.7 mt and Rs 7,386 crore. This came even as the country harvested record crops of gram, moong and urad.

Besides pulses, the Agriculture Ministry has also revised upwards its 2010-11 production estimates to new highs for total foodgrains (now put at 241.56 mt), wheat (85.93 mt), coarse grains (42.22 mt), maize (21.28 mt), oilseeds (31.10 mt) and soyabean (12.66).

While the cotton output estimate has been downgraded to 33.43 million bales – from the 33.93 million bales in the 3rd and 2nd Advance Estimates – it still translates into a record level.

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