Boost production of pulses, says expert

The Central government’s steps to control the spiralling prices of pulses may have brought a little respite to consumers, but these actions will provide only a temporarily relief; the need of the hour is to develop new varieties of pulses with higher yield so that people are not deprived of nutrition and farmers’ interests are protected, say agricultural experts.

There is an urgent need that government should push for technological advancement to increase the productivity of pulses. To improve and develop new varieties of pulses, huge investments in research and development is required to be made.

“Increasing the minimum support price (MSP) for pulses is not going to solve the problem. Until the country is made self-sufficient in its demand for pulses, this problem will persist,” said P.S. Rangi, advisor to the Punjab State Farmers’ Commission.

“We need to develop new high yielding varieties of pulses. The longer we depend on imports from other countries to fulfil our domestic demand, the problem of price rise will continue to haunt in future as well,” said Dr. Rangi.

Over the past month, people in India have witnessed a sharp increase in the retail price of one of the most commonly consumed pulses, arhar (pigeon pea), which had risen to as high as Rs.200 per kg in the metro cities. Besides, the prices of other pulses such as urad (black gram), moong (green gram) and masoor (red lentils) had also risen sharply.

The extraordinary increase in the prices of pulses invited sharp criticism of the government, which later swung into action and took a number of steps, including imposition of stock limits on pulses, raids on hoarders and sale of subsidised pulses through government outlets in a bid to control the prices.

“These measures can only bring a temporary relief and moreover, in a country like India where pulses are a major source of protein, particularly for the poor, such a huge rise in pulses prices could be dangerous for nutritional standards in the country,” said Dr. Rangi, adding that the overall yield of pulses in India is far lower than the world level of 910 kg per hectare, and to increase this, a big push in research and development was required.

The Centre has said that till November 12, over 4,660 tonnes of pulses that were seized have been auctioned or disposed of through other options in markets, which will moderate the prices further.

“So far, 12,506 raids have been conducted across various States and 1,33,828.31 tonnes of pulses have been seized,” said an official spokesperson for the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.