New Delhi: Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to procuring Tur, Urad, and Masur at Minimum Support Prices (MSP) to promote crop diversification and achieve self-sufficiency in pulses production. Chairing a virtual meeting with agriculture ministers from various states at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi today, Chouhan emphasized the importance of registering farmers on the newly launched e-Samridhi portal, developed through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF), for assured procurement at MSP.
Highlighting the nation’s goal to achieve self-sufficiency in these three crops by 2027, Chouhan acknowledged the states’ efforts in increasing pulses production by 50 percent since 2015-16 but called for further efforts to enhance yield per hectare and motivate farmers to grow more pulses. He praised the country’s self-sufficiency in green gram (moong) and gram (chana) and noted the significant reduction in import dependency from 30 percent to 10 percent over the past decade. Chouhan urged state governments to collaborate with the Centre to make India not only self-sufficient in foodgrain production but also the global food basket.
Introducing the new Model Pulses Village scheme, to be rolled out in the current Kharif season, Chouhan urged states to utilize fallow lands for pulses cultivation after the rice harvest and to vigorously adopt inter-cropping of Tur. He emphasized the importance of sharing best practices among states and involving elected representatives such as MPs and MLAs in Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).
The Minister also highlighted the need for crop diversification towards cash crops and restoring soil fertility. He stressed the importance of timely and quality inputs, such as good quality seeds, to increase productivity, and assured maximum support for this. Chouhan informed that 150 Pulse Seed Hubs have been established, and Cluster Front Line Demonstrations (CFLDs) are being conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in low productivity districts. He called for the development of climate-resilient and short-duration crop varieties to mitigate the effects of climate change and urged state governments to strengthen their seed delivery systems.
The meeting was convened to address the urgent need to boost pulses production in the country and reduce imports. Agriculture ministers from major pulses-producing states, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, and Telangana, attended the meeting. The state governments appreciated the Centre’s efforts through the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and pledged full cooperation. They expressed optimism that the above-normal monsoon prediction would help achieve the government’s targets. The states also recognized the need to distribute high-yielding seed varieties and expand the area under pulses cultivation.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ram Nath Thakur, Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja, and Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General of ICAR Dr. Himanshu Pathak also participated in the meeting. Chouhan invited all state agriculture ministers to Delhi for a detailed discussion on the agricultural scenario in their respective states to collectively address any issues.