India touts 32-fold rise in pulse procurement under Modi

A massive procurement surge just rewired India’s pulses game and flipped the script on imports.

Procurement numbers flip the script

• Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan contrasted the UPA with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s record.
• During the UPA’s decade, only 6 lakh metric tonnes were picked up.
• The Modi government snapped up 1 crore 92 lakh metric tonnes.
• Tur, masoor, and urad will see a full government buyback.

Full buyback promise to farmers

• Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan guaranteed total procurement of key pulses.
• The Centre will take whatever quantity growers bring to market.
• Tur refers to pigeon pea in official listings.
• Masoor and urad are covered under the same pledge.

Productivity gap and turnaround push

• Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan flagged India’s 38 percent cultivation share.
• Production sat at just 28 percent globally.
• Old seed stock and rough weather dragged yields down.
• By 2021 to 22, output hit 27.30 million tonnes.

Self-reliance mission rollout

• Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan outlined the Self-Reliance in Pulses Mission.
• Improved seeds and higher replacement rates are part of the plan.
• Farmers receive training, mini-kits, and demo plots.
• Dal mill setup support reaches Rs 25 lakh.

Infrastructure fund buildout

• Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan cited the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.
• Fund value crosses Rs 1 lakh crore.
• Warehouses, Cold Storages, and Processing Centres were set up.
• Modern storage trimmed losses by 5 to 15 percent.