Carrying capacity of Indian agriculture: pulse cropsTI Carrying capacity of Indian agriculture: pulse crops

摘要

India is the largest producer, consumer, importer and processor of pulses in the world. Ironically, the country's pulse production has been hovering around 14-15 Mt, coming from a near-stagnated area of 22-23 M ha, since 1990-91. For meeting the demand of the growing population, the country is importing pulses to the tune of 2.5-3.5 Mt every year. Strong upward trend in the import of pulses is a cause of concern, since an increase in demand from India has shown to have cascading effect on international prices, thus draining the precious foreign exchange. By 2050, the domestic requirements would be 26.50 Mt, necessitating stepping up production by 81.50%, i.e. 11.9 Mt additional produce at 1.86% annual growth rate. This uphill task has to be accomplished under more severe production constraints, especially abiotic stresses, abrupt climatic changes, emergence of new species/strains of insect-pests and diseases, and increasing deficiency of secondary and micronutrients in the soil. This requires a two-pronged proactive strategy, i.e. improving per unit productivity and reducing cost of production. This article describes the present availability of pulses, demand projections in different time-frames, future challenges, and technology drivers for increasing pulse production in the country. A scheme has also been suggested for achieving self-sufficiency in pulses by 2050.