Pulses Production – Subramanian Committee, Eco Survey, etc.

Why in the News?

India, though the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses, continues to face chronic supply-demand imbalance, threatening food security and farm incomes.

Introduction  

• The Union Cabinet (1 October 2025) approved the ₹11,440 crore “Mission for Atmanirbharta in Pulses”, a 6-year programme (FY26–FY31) to achieve self-sufficiency in pulse production.
• The initiative responds to surging imports of $5.5 billion in FY25, the highest ever, amid stagnating domestic yields and acreage.
• India, though the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses, continues to facea  chronic supply-demand imbalance, threatening food security and farm incomes.

Why Farmers shifted away from Pulses?

1. Price Disparity: Market prices often 14–28% below MSP, due to cheap imports (e.g., yellow peas from Canada at ₹3,000/quintal vs MSP ₹5,875).
2. Import Competition: Duty-free imports from Canada, Australia, Mozambique, Myanmar suppress domestic demand.
3. Policy Bias: Procurement, subsidies, and irrigation facilities favour rice and wheat, not pulses.
4. Low Productivity: Pulses mostly grown on rain-fed, marginal lands, highly vulnerable to droughts, erratic monsoons, and poor irrigation.
5. Market Risk: Weak procurement and delayed payments reduce confidence in government price support.
6. Limited R&D: Poor availability of improved seed varieties and inadequate extension support for pest management and soil health.

Key Structural Challenges:

1. MSP and Procurement Gaps: Inconsistent purchase operations discourage adoption of pulses over cereals.
2. Climatic Vulnerability: Rain-fed dependence leads to high risk from El Niño, floods, or dry spells.
3. Low Yields: National average at 740 kg/ha, below global mean of 949 kg/ha and far below Canada/USA (1,800+ kg/ha).
4. Small Landholdings: Over 85% small and marginal farmers lack capital for irrigation and mechanisation.
5. Soil and Pest Constraints: Nutrient deficiency, salinity, and frequent pest attacks hinder productivity.
6. Institutional Weakness: Fragmented R&D ecosystem and weak integration between seed research, extension, and procurement systems.

Benefits of Pulses Cultivation:

1. Environmental Sustainability: Pulses require less water and lower chemical inputs than cereals.
2. Soil Fertility: Through biological nitrogen fixation, they enrich soil nitrogen, improving yield for subsequent crops.
3. Reduced Fertilizer Use: Lower dependence on synthetic urea reduces subsidy burden and emissions.
4. Soil Structure and Water Retention: Root systems enhance porosity, carbon content, and microbial biodiversity.
5. Pest and Disease Management: Crop rotation with pulses suppresses soil-borne pathogens and reduces pesticide dependency.
6. Carbon Sequestration: Residue incorporation increases soil organic carbon, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
7. Economic Efficiency: Arvind Subramanian Committee (2016) estimated a ₹13,000/ha higher social benefit for Tur vis-à-vis rice cultivation due to water and emission savings.

Way Forward:

1. Seed Innovation: Intensify research through ICAR–IIPR and utilise India’s 70,000 germplasm accessions for high-yielding, climate-resilient strains.
2. Area Expansion: Promote rice-fallow pulse rotation in eastern India and intercropping systems in semi-arid regions.
3. Assured Procurement: Scale up NAFED and NCCF-led MSP operations, ensuring timely payments.
4. Infrastructure Support: Strengthen warehousing, milling, and processing hubs near production clusters.
5. Import Rationalisation: Impose variable tariffs to protect domestic farmers from global price volatility.
6. Sustainability Integration: Incentivise pulse cultivation under carbon farming and sustainable agriculture missions.