NITI Aayog paper advocates use of herbicide-tolerant seeds for pulses

NITI Aayog suggests developing herbicide-tolerant pulses varieties and including pulses in welfare programs like PDS to boost domestic production and ensure self-sufficiency in pulses production

There is a need for swift development of pest-resistant, herbicide-tolerant and machine-harvestable varieties of pulses to make the country self-sufficient in pulses, a NITI Aayog paper said while advocating their compulsory inclusion in all welfare programmes like mid-day meal scheme and PDS to ensure nutrition for everyone.

 

India imported a record almost 6.7 million tonnes of pulses in the financial year 2024-25, the highest since 2016-17 due to low domestic production and rising demand.

 

The paper titled, ‘Strategies and Pathways for Accelerating Growth in Pulses towards the Goal of Atmanirbharta,’ was released on Thursday by NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand along with CEO BVR Subrahmanyam.

 

The paper estimated that under the ‘Business as Usual’ (BAU) approach, a gap of 4.57 million tonnes is projected in India’s pulses production and consumption which will slightly increase to 4.94 million tonnes by 2047.

 

“To bridge this gap, pulse output would need to grow by a factor of 1.41 times and 2.04 times by 2030 and 2047, respectively, from the current supply level,” the report said.

 

The report suggested development of machine-harvestable and herbicide-tolerant varieties of pulses, especially chickpea, lentil, mung bean, and black gram, will allow pulses production at a commercial scale with production efficiency.

 

Among the other recommendations, it wanted utilising one-third of rice fallow area across ten states for pulse cultivation that itself has the potential to raise domestic production by up to 2.85 million tonnes per annum. It also suggested crop wise clusters for both horizontal and vertical expansion efforts for targeted growth in pulse production.

 

The paper also advocated a phased approach to distribute high-quality seeds and seed treatment kits to farmers in targeted districts with high potential for yield growth and area expansion. The paper also advocated strengthening the procurement of pulses after harvest to ensure remunerative prices for these growers and the urgent need to bring procurement centres to the growers’ doorstep, particularly during harvest season.

 

It also suggested tweaking the PM-ASHAA schemes to ensure price guarantee for farmers and exploring the potential of summer pulses.