Govt pushes lentil cultivation

While India is knocking at the doors of African countries to import pulses, reports trickling in from the states suggest that a large number of sugarcane farmers are shifting to cultivation of lentils to benefit from higher market prices.

The Centre is apparently mulling further enhancing the minimum support prices ( MSPs) for various categories of pulses to encourage farmers to shift to cultivating lentils. The rise in prices of lentils in the last two years has been a cause of concern for the NDA government.

“We have gathered that farmers in significant numbers have opted for sowing pulses due to better market prices. Besides higher MSP and a ` 400- perquintal bonus on different varieties of pulses, the policy announcement to create a robust buffer stock appears to have enthused the farmers, who have traditionally been growing sugarcane,” said S. K. Patnaik, secretary, ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare.

He stated that sugarcane growers in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Punjab have sown pulses in the ongoing kharif season. Incidentally, sugarcane farmers have for long suffered due to delayed payments which have resulted in arrears. With a global glut in

A large number of sugarcane farmers are shifting to cultivation of lentils to benefit from higher market prices

sugar supply, sugarcane growers have also long been complaining of not getting a price that is enough to support cultivation. “In MP, the farmers have sown pulses on an additional six lakh hectares, while it’s four lakh hectares for Karnataka, two lakh for Punjab, one lakh for Maharashtra. The trend is quite encouraging and it gives a fillip to the policy thrust on cropdiversification to help farmers increase their incomes,” said a senior agriculture ministry official. The annual demand for pulses in India is pegged at about 24.50 million tonnes, while domestic production in recent years has been, on an average, about 17 million tonnes.

The government has been scouting worldwide for opportunities to import pulses. PM Narendra Modi, during his recent visit to Mozambique, had signed an agreement for a long- term arrangement to import tur dal. “A representative of the sugarcane growers from Maharashtra had shared their experiences of having shifted to cultivation of pulses and getting good prices for their produce,” said Prof. Ramesh Chand, a member of Niti Aayog.