THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
New Delhi, February 15: Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda today said that the country has made considerable progress in the development of pulse crops due to the tireless efforts of the Centre since 2014.
Self-sufficient in gram
“India has become self-sufficient in gram and many other pulse crops; some shortage is left in tur and urad, and efforts are to complete it by 2027,” Munda, also the Tribal Affairs Minister, said.
Inaugurating the four-day Pulses Convention organised by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) and Global Pulse Confederation (GPC), Munda said that India is the largest producer and also the largest consumer of pulses in the world.
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“The Government of India is working with great responsibility under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to improve agriculture and raise the farmers’ standard of living,” he pointed out.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi
Munda pointed out that schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, and 10 thousand FPOs are being run.
“Farmers are also being helped through measures like loans and purchases at MSP. By continuously working in the pulses sector, the government is trying to reduce dependence on imports and increase domestic production to move towards self-reliance,” he said.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goel, Ethiopia’s Minister of Trade and Industry and Regional Integration Kasahu Gofe Balami, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh, GPC President Vijay Iyengar, NAFED Chairman Dr Bijendra Singh, MD Ritesh Chauhan, Additional Secretary (Agriculture) Shubha Thakur, along with senior officials of Centre-States, Presidents-MDs of National Cooperative Unions, officials of National Unions of farmers-traders, millers, exporter-importers and supply chain representatives were present on occasion.
Supply of seeds of new varieties
Munda pointed out that the supply of seeds of new varieties is being increased, while the focus has been on expanding the area of Tur-Urad. The area under lentils this Rabi season is about 1 lakh hectares.
“A portal has been launched for the purchase of tur. Farmers can sell the entire amount at MSP to NAFED or NCCF by registering on this,” he said
Munda said that agricultural production in the country is targeted at 332 million tonnes, of which pulses production alone is targeted at 29.25 million tonnes.
He said that considering the importance of the pulses sector, health and environment, significant financial outlay has been reported in the budget for the Agriculture Ministry.
NFSM-Pulses
The Ministry of Agriculture is implementing NFSM-Pulses in all the districts to increase domestic pulse production to increase production through area expansion and productivity increase.
150 pulse centres
To increase the availability of quality pulse seeds, 150 pulse centres have been opened under NFSM from 2016-17, producing more than 1 lakh quintals of quality pulse seeds.
The Union Minister said that to increase the productivity potential of pulse crops, ICAR is conducting basic and strategic research in collaboration with State Agricultural Universities to develop production packages matched to location-specific high-yielding varieties.
343 high-yielding varieties of pulses
The government’s efforts have also resulted in the introduction of 343 high-yielding varieties of pulses for commercial cultivation.
In the coming Kharif season, arrangements are being made to showcase varieties and technologies in a large area through Cluster Front Line Demonstration so that farmers become familiar with new varieties and technologies and increase the production of pulse crops by adopting them.
There is also a need to rapidly disseminate high-quality gram varieties like high protein varieties, climate-friendly varieties and other beneficial technologies and to create a value chain from seed to product; hence, along with the government’s efforts, efforts of the private sector should also be made.
