On August 19, 2019, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) called for conversion of rice fallow lands for the production of pulses to facilitate better income for farmers. As per the commission, about 8.5 million hectares (mha) of rice fallows in the country can be utilised for the cultivation of pulses. Assam and West Bengal have one million hectares each of such land, whereas Odisha and Chhattisgarh have about 3 mha each.
The commission wants to improve productivity of pulses and reduce fluctuations in crop yield by introducing better technologies and varieties. The commission also recommends that the government should include pulses in the public distribution system and other welfare schemes. According to the commission, if cultivation of pulses is promoted, the country can overcome the problem of malnutrition, and soil fertility can also be improved through nitrogen fixation. The problems that have plagued pulses’ production include low market prices—below the MSPs—that resulted in reduced acreage for pulses cultivation such as cultivation of tur by about 17 per cent in 2017–18.
The commission has suggested that exports of water-intensive crops, such as rice and sugarcane should not be promoted; instead, production of pulses need to be promoted by ensuring better quality seeds’ distribution to farmers and appropriate price support. As pulses have high volatility, as they are grown in rain-fed areas, there is a need for making available drought-tolerant varieties and technologies.
In its annual report for kharif 2019–20, the commission pointed out that production of pulses would be a record 25.23 million tonnes (mt) in 2017–18, about 2 mt more than that in the previous year. So, imports of pulses reduced to 1.8 mt in April–December 2018, from 5 mt in the same period of the previous year. The commission warned and suggested that the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) stock should not be sold below the economic cost as it will discourage both industry and trade from procuring during marketing season.