Farmers should be Encouraged to Produce Pulses says Dr. Dinesh Chauhan

The World Pulses Day2022 offers an opportunity to increase awareness about the nutritional benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production, with the aim of Agri-food systems, if made more appealing and equitable to youth - have the potential to be a major, untapped source of employment possibilities.

Agri-food systems are already the largest employer. Nonetheless, they frequently fail to provide decent and meaningful labor as well as suitable livelihood prospects.

With an annual output of more than 23 million metric tonnes, India is the world's largest producer of pulses. India produces 25% of the world's pulses, consumes 27% of the world's pulses and imports 14% of the world's pulses. Due to the relentless efforts of farmers, scientists, and farmer-friendly policies implemented by the central government over the last 5-6 years, the country's pulse production has climbed from 140 lakh tonnes to 240 lakh tonnes. We must now consider future requirements as well.

World Pulses Day this year will be celebrated for the fourth time on February 10th 2022 (Thursday) with the theme, "Pulses to empower youth in achieving sustainable agrifood systems”. Keeping in mind the above context and to support UN's theme of this year's World Pulses Day, Krishi Jagran hosted a live session on "Pulses to Empower Youth in Achieving Sustainable Seed Production, Distribution, and Agri-Food System" on February 10th, 2022.

Many prominent industry people took part and shared their perspectives, and one of them was Dr. Dinesh Chauhan Vice President - New Initiatives- DeHaat, located in Gurgaon, Haryana.

Dr. Chauhan has over two decades of worldwide experience working and managing significant projects in Africa and India. He has broad expertise working in both the Agri Input and Output side of the value chain for both fresh and soft commodities, as well as international consultancy and non-profit organizations. 

Dr. Chauhan holds a Ph.D. in Management from Pantnagar University with MBA in Agribusiness Management and an MSc in Food Technology. He also serves on the advisory boards of Africa Agribusiness Alliance, Global Bio Ag Linkages and AgTech Insight – US, Ghana India Trade Advisory Council- Ghana, Global AgTech Council, and is a working group member of the National level Committee of Agri StartUps in India.

He has formed alliances and collaborated with cross-cultural teams from India, United States, Australia, Israel, Africa, China, Norway, Middle East and South Asia.

During the session, Dr Dinesh said,“If we will talk about pulses then India is probably one of the largest producers as well as importers of pulses. Therefore, this category becomes much more relevant and important."

The average production or yield of pulses in India is around 600kg/ hectare whereas the international average production is around  950-1000kg/ha. Certainly, there is a lot of scope for improvement as despite being one of the largest growers or producers of pulses, that means there is a gap in terms of productivity.” he added.

About DeHaat

DeHaat is one of the very few companies providing end-to-end solutions and services to the farming community in India. Headquartered in Gurgaon, it offers farmers a range of services that encompass supply chain, agricultural inputs, advice on crops, pests, soil and seeds, and a lot more.