Diversify agriculture, encourage farmers to grow pulses: SC to govt., Pg12

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court has directed the Union government to revise its agricultural policy to encourage farmers to diversify from traditional crops like wheat and paddy to pulses.
• The court emphasized the need for an incentivized Minimum Support Price (MSP) for pulses to cover production costs for small and medium farmers.
• The court also addressed the need to guarantee timely sale of pulse products and regulate the cost price of imported yellow peas to protect domestic pulse production.
• The Kisan Mahapanchayat, an NGO, filed a petition seeking curbs on the import of yellow peas.
• Production of pulses declined from 273 lakh tonnes in 2021-2022 to 242 lakh tonnes in 2023-2024.

Detailed Insights:

• The Supreme Court has asked the Union government to promote agricultural diversification, particularly from paddy in North India, to pulse cultivation.
• The Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce, and Consumer Affairs are directed to collaborate with experts to create a framework that makes pulse cultivation profitable for farmers.
• The court highlighted the absence of a guaranteed MSP for pulses as a key issue, contrasting it with the MSP available for wheat, rice, paddy, and millets.
• The import of yellow peas was triggered by a decline in domestic pulse production due to disease, but the court is concerned about its impact on local farmers.
• The government is urged to understand the factors influencing farmers' decisions and create policies that address their concerns and promote pulse production.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Minimum Support Price (MSP): A price set by the government to purchase certain crops from farmers, ensuring a minimum profit.
• Agricultural Diversification: Shifting from monoculture to growing a variety of crops to improve resilience and sustainability.
• Pulse Crops: Leguminous crops like lentils, chickpeas, and beans, valued for their nutritional content and nitrogen-fixing properties.