Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan has reiterated the Centre's commitment to procuring Tur, Urad, and Masur at Minimum Support Prices (MSP) to promote crop diversification and achieve self-sufficiency in pulse production.
Speaking at a virtual meeting with state agriculture ministers at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi on June 21, 2024, Chouhan introduced the e-Samridhi portal. This initiative, launched in collaboration with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF), aims to facilitate the registration of farmers for assured MSP procurement.
Chouhan highlighted the importance of increasing registration on the portal and urged state governments to motivate farmers to participate. He highlighted that the nation's current production levels of Tur, Urad, and Masur are insufficient and set a target for self-sufficiency by 2027. While acknowledging the states' achievements in boosting pulse production by 50% since 2015-16, he called for enhanced efforts to improve yield per hectare and further encourage pulse cultivation.
Union Minister praised the progress made in achieving self-sufficiency in green gram (moong) and gram (chana), noting a significant reduction in import dependency from 30% to 10% over the past decade. He urged states to collaborate with the Centre to transform India into a global foodgrain hub.
A new Model Pulses Village scheme is set to launch this Kharif season, aimed at utilizing fallow lands post-rice harvest for pulse cultivation. Chouhan also advocated for vigorous inter-cropping of Tur and encouraged the sharing of best practices among states, including involving elected representatives in Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).
Chouhan underscored the necessity of crop diversification towards cash crops and maintaining soil fertility. He assured maximum support for providing timely and quality inputs, such as high-quality seeds, to farmers. The Government of India has established 150 Pulse Seed Hubs and is conducting Cluster Front Line Demonstrations (CFLDs) through the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in low productivity districts to boost pulse production. Chouhan called for the development of climate-resilient and short-duration crop varieties to mitigate the impacts of climate change and urged states to enhance their seed delivery systems.
The meeting, which sought to address the urgent need to increase pulse production and reduce imports, included participation from agriculture ministers of major pulse-producing states, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, and Telangana. These states commended the Centre’s initiatives under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and pledged full cooperation. They expressed optimism about achieving the government’s targets given the above-normal monsoon forecast and recognized the need for distributing high-yielding seed varieties and expanding pulse cultivation areas.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ram Nath Thakur, Bhagirath Chaudhary, Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja, and Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General of ICAR, also attended the meeting.
Chouhan assured comprehensive support to the states and invited state agriculture ministers to Delhi for a detailed discussion on the agricultural scenario and collective problem-solving.
