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Pulses, along with rice, wheat and other cereals, comprise a major
portion of the Indian diet. India’s major pulse crops are
chickpea (chana), mung bean (moong), pigeonpea (toor), red lentil
(masoor), and urad bean (urad). Minor pulses include red kidney
bean (rajma) and other beans, cowpea, horsegram, moth, kesari-dal,
guar, etc.
The total production of pulses for 2008-09 is estimated at 14.18 million tonnes, which is 3.9 per cent lower than the production in 2007-08 and 8.5 per cent lower than the targeted production for 2008-09. The gap was filled by imports.
This is why pulses have come under the ambit of the National Food
Security Mission (NFSM), an initiative launched in 2007-08 to increase
the nation’s production and productivity of wheat, rice and
pulses on a sustainable basis to ensure food security of the country.
The NFSM approach is to bridge the yield gap in respect of these
crops through dissemination of improved technologies and farm management
practices.
Although the cultivation of pulses in India has not received the
Government of India’s attention to the same degree as rice,
wheat, sugarcane, oilseeds or cotton, there have been several initiatives
launched by the Directorate of Pulses Development, a division of
the Ministry of Agriculture’s Department of Agriculture and
Cooperation (DAC).
One of the first schemes was the National Pulses Development Project
(NPDP) which was subsequently merged with the Technology Mission
on Oilseeds to form the Technology Mission on Oilseeds and Pulses
(TMOP). Later schemes for oilpalm and maize were also brought under
one umbrella program called the Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses,
Oilpalm & Maize (ISOPOM).
The overall aim of the scheme is to achieve self reliance in pulses
along with sustainability in the production system. The focus is
on increasing acreage under pulses, increasing yields and reducing
losses in harvesting and storage. The scheme involves development
and distribution of new varieties of seeds, and building farmer
awareness on seed treatment, plant protection, soil nutrition and
harvesting technologies.
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