India will continue to import pulses unless their productivity improves, and any price escalation will add to inflationary pressure, a report said. Also, political developments in the world market such as the dispute with Canada and China’s intervention in Africa may create a serious pulses crisis in India, the report by the Delhi-based Krishi Anusandhan and Kisan Vikas (KAKV) Foundation, a non-profit organisation has warned.

India is the world’s largest producer accounting for a fourth of global output and largest consumer accounting for 27 per cent of the world’s consumption. Also, India is the largest importer accounting for 14 per cent of the world imports. India produced 26.8 million tonnes (mt) of pulses in 2023 and the shortfall by 2030 is expected to be around 8 mt. Pulses account for 23 per cent of the area but contribute around 10 per cent of total foodgrain production in the country.

“Without focus on productivity, it is not possible to achieve self-sufficiency,” the report said. The pulses seed research has failed in meeting the benchmark of even African countries, it said adding that unless we double the average productivity, it will not be possible to be self-sufficient in pulses.

Though India is the largest producer of pigeon pea, the productivity is poor and much lower than some African countries. In the case of chickpeas, short-duration varieties resistant to fusarium wilt have shown the highest yield averaging 1.4 tonnes per hectare, while China and Israel have shown a yield of 4.5 tonnes per hectare in 2013-17. India should study these factors of productivity and use their experience, the report said adding that there was a need to take a realistic view of the potential of new varieties.

GM PULSES

The report has called for encouraging research on genetically modified (GM) pulses for mitigation of risk due to crop failure by attack of pod borer and diseases such as fusarium wilt and yellow mosaic virus. Hybrid pigeon peas developed in the country offer good opportunities for farmers to harvest better yields and profits, but the limitation is the lack of adequate availability of the seeds.

It suggested the launch of better seed production programmes for easy availability of seeds to farmers and said that special attention is required for developing improved chickpea varieties that can withstand both biotic and abiotic stresses.

While stating that productivity-related research should be benchmarked, the report said that risk mitigation strategies in conjunction with access to supplementary irrigation, quality seeds and better agronomy shall instill confidence in farmers to expand the area. As the dynamic change in pulses production will not happen as it took place in the case of cereals because pulses farmers face high input prices, lower profitability and even crop failure. All interventions in pulses must be therefore bottom-up, it said.

Government’s pulse diversification policies face risks. Solutions include higher minimum support prices, procurement guarantees, export incentives for surplus, targeted schemes in Bundelkhand, rice-fallow systems in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, and promoting summer moong on 9 million hectares. In the eastern ecologies, the research on lentil crops should be prioritised with a specific focus on disease management.

The report stated that aggressive promotion of pulses in rain-fed regions of Central India can substantially mitigate the effect of climate change. Fortification of pulses based cropping systems urgently requires suitable investment by Central and State Governments to improve micro irrigation infrastructure. The policy stimulus should be more generous for the sprinkler-based irrigation systems, it said.

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