Why Indian farmers avoid pulses and oilseeds

The story: The government raised the minimum support price (MSP) of main kharif crops in June 2021, but the maximum increases were reserved for pulses

Why Indian farmers avoid pulses and oilseeds

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• The story: The government raised the minimum support price (MSP) of main kharif crops in June 2021, but the maximum increases were reserved for pulses and oilseeds. The goal is to encourage farmers to move away from wheat and paddy and opt for pulses and oilseeds instead.
• Is change happening: Both the acreage and production of pulses and oilseeds have risen in the last few years, but not at the cost of rice and wheat production.

1. Between 2014-15 and 2020-21 (July to June), when the MSP of paddy (common) was hiked by almost 37 per cent, the acreage under the crop dipped only marginally — by around 2.5 per cent. And while the MSP of wheat increased by 36.2 per cent during the same period, there was a 10 per cent increase in its area under cultivation.
2. In contrast, while the MSP of chana rose by almost 61 per cent between 2014-15 and 2020-21, the area under the crop rose by almost 36 per cent. The area under soya bean cultivation increased by nearly 10 per cent on the back of its MSP rising by almost 51.5 per cent.
3. Though higher MSPs encouraged farmers to grow more pulses and oilseeds, there was no simultaneous shift away from wheat and paddy.

• The strategy: It is a good idea to use the MSP as a tool to encourage farmers to shift from water-guzzling paddy to more in-demand pulses and oilseeds. But experience shows that the shift does not happen so easily as climatic conditions needed for growing paddy are entirely different from that for growing tur or urad. While paddy is grown in high rainfall areas or in well-irrigated areas of the country, pulses like tur and urad are grown in areas with less rainfall or poor irrigation. So the MSPs can encourage farmers in areas where pulses and oilseeds are already grown to bring more areas under the crops. Also, unless backed by strong procurement mechanisms or ready markets, MSPs alone are not enough to encourage farmers to leave cereal cultivation and opt for pulses and oilseeds.
• Production data: In the past few years, India’s pulses production has risen from a mere 14-15 million tonnes to almost 22-23 million tonnes not just due to higher MSPs, but also because of an assured procurement system by state agencies. For a farmer, the rate of return on investments is the most important factor that determines whether he wants to make the switch from paddy and wheat to pulses or oilseeds in a season. Only regular procurements or the markets could do this. Else, only have farmers on the margins will make the shift, and there won’t be any wholesale transition.
• Alternatives: Some state governments have now started giving them a per hectare incentive for cultivating crops other than cereals. For example, the Haryana government under its, ‘mera pani-meri virasat’ scheme, is providing an incentive of Rs 7,000 per acre to farmers who opt for pulses, cotton, maize and horticulture crops. Chhattisgarh is giving a higher input subsidy of Rs.10,000 per acre to all farmers who shift from paddy to kodo-kutki (traditional millets), sugarcane, maize, soybean, pulses, oilseeds and so on, under its Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana. 

 

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