In a first-of-its-kind initiative under contract farming aimed at expanding the area under pulses cultivation, the government will soon start procurement of tur and masoor at the minimum support price (MSP) from farmers in Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jharkhand and Gujarat.
Officials said the pilot initiative will cover 15,000 acres and is aimed at expanding pulses production to those states where farmers are not growing them now.
“The assured buyback at MSP will encourage farmers to grow pulses, aimed at reducing the country’s import dependence,” an official told FE.
The National Co-operative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) will start procurement of pulses under contract farming soon. In addition, the government agency has registered 1.5 million farmers for purchase of pulses at MSP across key producing states such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana and Chhattisgarh. Farmers’ cooperative Nafed has registered 1.7 million farmers for purchase of kharif pulses varieties such as tur, urad and lentils at MSP.
Retail prices of tur and urad have declined or remained stable in the last three months, according to an official. To bridge the gap between demand and supply, the country imports about 15% of its annual pulses consumption of around 30 MT.