2024-05-08 14:01:31
New Delhi: The rising prices of pulses have increased the tension of the government. The government is worried that some people are rigging the prices of pulses. The prices of arhar (tur) dal have increased by a huge 31 percent in just one year. Not only arhar dal, the prices of urad dal have also increased by about 15 percent. The prices of lentils have also increased. The government is worried that middlemen are storing sacks of pulses. They are storing it in warehouses or shops. The supply is limited. It is inevitable that prices will increase due to reduction in supply. This will increase inflation, which is not good for the economy. To prevent this from becoming common, the government is preparing to conduct a surprise check. It may also request traders and retailers to provide information about their pulses stocks regularly. The question is whether rising prices are only due to unethical hoarding by a small group or there is some other reason behind it.
The production of pulses did not increase in that proportion
Pulses are very popular in India. Especially of tur i.e. arhar dal. This is the most consumed pulse in both rural and urban households. But, the problem is that we are not able to produce in sufficient quantities to meet our needs. Apart from this, this is not a recent thing. Farmers have been giving preference to rice and wheat instead of pulses for a long time. This has been happening for many decades. For example, from 1951 to 2008, the production of pulses increased only 45 percent. In contrast, wheat production increased by 320 percent between 1951 and 2008.
Farmers were not interested in cultivating pulses in large quantities. One reason for this is the difference in yield between the two crops. Pulses produce 800 kg per hectare. Whereas wheat produces more than 3,000 kg. It was not only wheat that became popular. Farmers also turned to the profitable crop of soybean. Soon the states of North India, which traditionally grew pulses, began to become less popular. The result was that the country has been importing pulses since 1981. About 10 per cent of our annual demand comes from countries like Tanzania, Mozambique and Myanmar.
A lot depends on monsoon
Now imagine a situation where weather creates problems. Cultivation of pulses is generally not done through irrigation. In such a situation, it is important for monsoon to come and go on time. Any variation can affect the yield to a great extent.
This is what has happened recently. The weather has been unpredictable. Diseases have affected crop production. We are far behind our targets.
Duty-free import of pulses has to start in December 2023. Initially the scheme was intended to be implemented by March. However, the production of pulses in the country is still not as per expectations. Therefore, the government decided to extend this scheme till June. We are importing in large quantities. The government had also implemented duty free imports a few years ago. The reason is that we were unable to produce pulses in sufficient quantity to meet the demand.
However, we should not make disproportionate changes to our policies on the basis of convenience. The government is aware of this. At the same time he also knows that this problem may become more serious in future. India is a country that lacks adequate protein. Pulses have been a source of protein for most people. Experts suggest that as India’s wealth and disposable income increases, people will aim to consume more protein. Pulses will be an important source of protein for this purpose.
Government has helped through MSP
In such a situation, it is necessary for the farmers to cultivate pulses. Otherwise there may be an imbalance in demand and supply in future. In an effort to generate more interest among farmers, the government has increased the minimum support price (MSP) of pulses in the last decade. Minimum Support Price (MSP) can be considered as a minimum price at which the government commits to purchase a certain quantity of the crop from farmers.
This ensures that farmers can expect stable income even during periods of low market prices. There has been a huge increase of about 47 per cent in the minimum support price (MSP) of pulses like arhar and urad during the period from FY 2014 to FY 2022. In such a situation, another significant increase will be required to maintain the interest of the farmers. The government hopes that the country will achieve self-sufficiency in pulses by 2028. Therefore, there is a need to encourage farmers a little more to do this.