Statistics from the state agriculture department point to an almost 55 per cent increase in sown area of pulses, up from 15 lakh hectares last year to almost 23 lakh hectares during the ongoing kharif season this year.
Will Madhya Pradesh be able to provide the much needed relief to consumers in prices of pulses? Perhaps, as the state expects the area under cultivation of pulses to go up by an additional 18 lakh hectares within the kharif and rabi seasons. The added area is expected to contribute to an increase in production of pulses eventually leading to a drop in prices.
55 PER CENT INCREASE IN SOWN AREA
Statistics from the state agriculture department point to an almost 55 per cent increase in sown area of pulses, up from 15 lakh hectares last year to almost 23 lakh hectares during the ongoing kharif season this year. The major pulses sown in the kharif season include arhar, moong and urad. There has been an increase in area of cultivation of arhar from 6 to 9 lakh hectares, in urad from 4.5 lakh to 7.5 lakh hectares and in moong from 75,000 to 1.75 lakh hectares this year over the previous year.
INCREASE IN CULTIVATED AREA
Also, it is expected that the area under cultivation of pulses in the next rabi season will also go up to about 46 lakh hectares, up from the 38 lakh hectares last year. The main pulses sown in the rabi season are gram, tewda and masoor. Besides this, another 2 lakh hectares was under moong cultivation in the summer months as part of a third crop that has become possible due to release of water from certain reservoirs in the state. The total increase in cultivated area under pulses is expected to be about 18 lakh hectares by the end of the year.
The added area, as per the agriculture department, will contribute to increase in production and will in fact reduce the shortfall of pulses in the country by half. "The annual production of pulses in MP stands at about 50-54 lakh tonnes which is expected to go up to about 75 lakh tonnes," said Principal Secretary, Agriculture, GoMP, Rajesh Rajora. In India, there is a shortfall in pulses of about 40 lakh tonnes which is met by imports contributing to an increase in prices in the last few years.
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