Pulses slowing down
Returns to cultivation are artificially low
When the production of pulses touched a record 18.2 million tonnes in 2010-11, substantially outstripping the historic 14 to 15 million tonne output level, it was trumpeted officially as a sustainable uptrend. However, this optimism has been shaken already, with 2011-12 output likely to drop by about a million tonnes. Clearly, the previous year’s harvest was an exception, a response to an unprecedented price spike which saw dal being sold at close to Rs 100 a kg. However, farmers’ hopes of a reasonable share of the price bonanza were dashed as the higher production, coupled with duty-free imports, brought down post-harvest mandi prices to levels below the minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the government. Even today, prices are lower than the MSP in many key pulse-producing states. Evidently, the fixing of an MSP for pulses is meaningless without an effective organised price support mechanism of the kind in place for wheat and rice. Pulse growers often have to dispose of their produce at throwaway prices, unable to recover even their production costs.
There are other reasons for the output of pulses to stagnate — though many of these also stem from the artificially low returns to pulse farming vis-à-vis other competing crops. Pulses, rich in protein, need more energy input (read plant nutrients) than most other food crops to grow to their potential. Besides, since they are particularly vulnerable to pests and diseases, they require extra plant health cover (read pesticide sprays). Without the incentive of remunerative returns, farmers are wary of investing in fertilisers and pesticides. As a result, the cultivation of pulses is confined largely to unirrigated marginal land, which is low in fertility.
The theory that technological breakthroughs have not occurred in pulses cultivation is only partially true. Though high-yielding and widely adaptable strains such as those that triggered the green revolution in wheat and rice have not been developed, many other compensatory technical advances do exist. For instance, varieties of pigeon pea (tur), the most consumed variety in this country, have been developed that can be harvested after around six months, instead of the usual 10 to 12 months. This helps tur fit into the multi-cropping pattern used in better-endowed land. Similarly, quick-maturing varieties of other pulses, notably moong, are now available. These can be grown during the interval between kharif and rabi harvests as an additional crop on irrigated fields. Since pulses are leguminous crops that fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, their introduction in the intensive agriculture systems offers an additional advantage by way of improving soil fertility and cutting down fertiliser requirements. The domestic supply gap could well be bridged through such an approach. These seeds need to be developed further and distributed widely so that a greater acreage is covered. Nevertheless, no strategy, however sound, will succeed unless the farmers are satisfied that their returns will be adequate.