In order to arrest the increasing dependence on imports and to ensure farmers and other stakeholders get rich benefits, research institutions such as ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) and other agri research agencies with the Union agricultural ministry?s support are working on genome sequence of pulses which not only increase the per hectare yield but also improve the nutritional value and evolution of new crop varieties to boost the nutrition aspect.
?A significant progress has been made so far in BT pigeonpea, chickpea and other pulses/grain and a field trial has been conducted by a private player in Maharashtra to see how it works,? said G Chandrasekhar, chairman of Global Pulses Conference
?Research is goingon. If we are successful, the per hectare yiled will shoot up from current low level of 650 kg to 1,000 kg a hectare and beyond, which not only bring down the imports substantially but also ensures farmers benefit immensely,? he said. ?We hope that the same will be ready for commercialisation by 2013-14,? he added.
Chandrasekhar, who was in Chennai on Monday along with the president and senior officials of Indian Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) to announce the forthcoming three-day ?Global Pulses Conclave?, the first major pulses event to be conducted in India by any associations, said: ?Though India has been the largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses in the world, but not playing a major role in price determination, policy decisions and global pulses business. However, the three-day conclave will give India a push to have a major say in market and price factors and to emerge as a leader in this business.?
The conclave will see attendence of around 450 delegates, including 150 from across the globe. The event will also see a few policy announcements by ministers.
According to Pravin Dongre, President of Indian Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), ?India currently imports around 3 million tonne of pulses to meet its increasing demand in the domestic market. Currently it produces 15 million tonne (23% of world production) of grain in 26 million hectares and consumes 18 million tonnes (37% of world consumption) and has a retail shelf value of R80,000 crore.?
To a question, he said: ?Except chickpea, India imports most of the pulses and exports chickpea to some extent. The per hectare yield of pulses in India is estimated to be around 650 kg as compared to the global average of 1,200 kg.
This is because of dry condition, soil moisture, marginal land, lack of price and policy supports from government. The imports have gone up from 5,000 tonne in 1960s to 3 million tonne now. Between 1960s and now, the production has only marginal gone up from 8.6 million tonne to 15 million tonne or 0.9%, while the consumption has gone up by more than 2% over the decades, he pointed out.
IPGA for allowing futures trading
Owing to sharp fall in prices over the last three years, IPGA has sought the government to allow futures trading in pulses on the lines of ?chana?, which is being traded in the futures market to arrest the price fall in the domestic market and to ensure farmers with proper monetary benefits, said Bimal Kothari, vice president, IPGA.
In response to a question, he said: ?The prices of pulses crashed down since 2008-09 despite rising import costs . We have not increased the prices in the domestic market. We want the government to allow us to do futures trading in pulses with quantitative restrictions and also allow us to export other pulses with the same restrictions to ensure level playing field.?