Question

What are the causes of decrease in area under pulse cultivation?

Answer 1

Recently India signed an agreement with Mozambique for import of pulses for five years. There is growing demand for pulses in India. Consumption of pulses in India is over 22 million tonnes, where as India produces less than 19 million tonnes of pulses every year. To meet its need India imports pulses from 46 countries. The yields of pulses in India are very low in comparison to other countries.

Reason for low production-

Indian agriculture is dependent on rainfall for water and pulse crops are grown in rain-fed areas. Below normal monsoon and lack of sufficient irrigation affects the output of pulses.An agro-climatic condition in India is comparatively less suitable to pulses, which hampered cultivation of pulses across the country and around the year.Pulse crop in India has witnessed very little research, hence in the absence of high-yield varieties, Indian farmers practice age old practice which results in low yield.Due to minimum support price regime Indian formers prefer to sow wheat and paddy instead of pulses.Though government has announced minimum support price for pulses, but it does not have the resources to procure pulses on the same scale as wheat and paddy, which discourages formers to grow pulses.

Suggestions-

To address the issue of low yield government needs to adopt both long term and short term measures.Government needs to promote pulses crop intensively with various measures like announcing subsidies for irrigation, power etc. India needs to build proper irrigation systemIndia should promote research and developmental activities to produce high-yield seeds. Also needs to open more universities to promote research activities.Government should rationalise the minimum support price to promote protein foods like pulses.Similarly there is needs bring reforms in agricultural markets to ensure assured markets for farmers who grow pulses.

Conclusion-

For high and increasing population like India protein foods like pulses are most necessary. Continuous dependence on imports is not good for long term. Hence Central and state governments together should address the issues that leading low yield of pulses and should undertake various actions to promote pulses cultivation.

Answer 2

During the green revolution, the government’s focus on food security helped achieve a tremendous increase in rice and wheat yields. However, the kind of importance afforded to cereals was absent in the case of pulses. Based on a study by the National Council of Applied Economic Research, between 1980 and 2010, area under cultivation for pulses increased sluggishly from 22.5 million hectares to 26 million hectares. This gradually declined to 23.5 million hectares by 2013. Today, pulses are mainly cultivated in five states – Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. And due to severe drought conditions over the past two years, especially in Maharashtra, the already insufficient output has further declined.