Govt to promote pulses in rice fallow areas under NFSM

The government today allocated additional funds to promote pulses cultivation in rice fallow areas of eastern states and for tackling wheat-blast disease in West Bengal under a central scheme NFSM.
A decision in this regard was taken at the 13th General Council meeting of the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), chaired by Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.
The Council decided to extend all projects approved under the NFSM till 2016-17, an official statement said.
That apart, it also decided to allocate funds by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutes for front-line demonstration of rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).

That apart, it approved distribution of seeds mini-kits and assistance to the central agencies for the production of certified seeds of pulses.
It gave nod for experimenting 'TL seeds' developed by the ICAR under seed-hub program during 2016-17 and its implementation during frontline demonstration in 2017-18.
Under the NFSM pulse programme, it decided to promote beekeeping with arhar dal during frontline demonstration and approved additional fund allocation for production of breeder-seeds of pulses and creation of seed hubs.
Three junior agriculture ministers -- Parshottam Rupala, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Krishna Raj -- were also present in the meeting.