India is the largest producer, consumer and
importer of pulses in the world. This is due to India’s
According to Mr Sampathkumar “India imports
nearly three-to-four million tones of pulses annually,” adding that this fact
is motivation “for India’s pulse and oilseed production to become self-reliant;
with some aiming for this to happen by 2022.” Based on current average yields,
India would need nearly seven-to-eight additional hectares of land to meet the
gap in demand without imports. In order for India’s pulses sector to become
self-reliant Sampathkumar believes that many obstacles have to be considered.
The first of these obstacles is the Indian
agricultural and price policies. In India, food generall only means two crops;
rice and wheat. Politics are always winning over economics; which is evident
from entrenched policies such as the MSP (Minimum Support Prices) and
procurement systems that seem to favour these two crops.
Issues around domestic farming: There are
no reliable marketing opportunities for farmers to sell
their crops, so why
grow something that you cannot sell? Archaic laws such as APMC (Agricultural
Produce Marketing Committee) regulations prevent farmers from into direct
supply contracts with a processor or retailer. The safest crops to grow would
be rice or wheat, which have minimum support prices that are increased annually
and have established procurement systems.
 |
| Raghavan Samathakumar. |
Limited crucial statistics data within the
sector: There is a lack of reliable data on production, acreage, and/or
consumption. Estimates tend to vary vastly from source-to-source; not only for
pulses but also for crops too. It is obvious what will happen when policies are
made without reliable data on these parameters.
Sampathkumar believes that “if India is to
achieve a self-reliant pulse and oilseed sector, it will require a holistic
understanding of current of the food value chain and the agrarian situation in
the country” Sampathkumar also believes that India is long poerdue “a review of
current ag-food policies and increased investment in research and
infrastructure for storage, food processing and marketing.”
Read more HERE.
The Global Miller
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