[Answered] Analyze the structural bottlenecks hindering India’s self-sufficiency in pulses despite rising demand. Evaluate how the recent shift towards value-chain-led structural reforms is indispensable for ensuring national nutritional security and sustainable agricultural growth.

Introduction

Despite being the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses, India faces a persistent 5–6 million tonne demand-supply gap, exposing structural weaknesses that threaten nutritional security and agricultural sustainability.

Structural Bottlenecks Impeding Pulse Self-Sufficiency

1. The Yield and Productivity Trap: India’s pulse productivity remains structurally constrained.
   Average yields hover around 800–900 kg/hectare, significantly below the global average of 1,100–1,200 kg/hectare (FAO). Limited access to high-yielding varieties (HYVs), inadequate extension services, and poor mechanisation restrict productivity gains, creating a structural supply deficit.
2. Rain-fed Vulnerability and Climate Exposure: Over 80% of pulses are cultivated in rain-fed regions. Unlike irrigated rice and wheat belts, pulses depend heavily on erratic monsoons. Climate variability, rising heat stress, and unseasonal rainfall reduce output stability, as highlighted in the Economic Survey 2023–24.
3. Policy Bias towards Cereals: The MSP–procurement regime has structurally privileged rice and wheat. While Food Corporation of India (FCI) ensures near-guaranteed procurement for cereals, pulse procurement under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) fluctuates between 3–12% of production, discouraging farmers from shifting acreage. This cereal bias has distorted cropping patterns.
4. Market Fragmentation and Post-Harvest Losses: Weak value-chain infrastructure depresses farmer incentives. Insufficient aggregation centres, grading facilities, and storage infrastructure lead to post-harvest losses estimated above ₹50,000 crore annually (ICAR estimates). Farmers often resort to distress sales below MSP.
5. Import Dependence and Price Volatility: Imports act as a price stabiliser but weaken domestic incentives. India imports 4–6 million tonnes annually from countries like Myanmar, Australia, and Canada. Sudden import decisions depress domestic prices, undermining farm incomes and creating political sensitivity.

Value-Chain-Led Structural Reforms: A Paradigm Shift

1. From Price Support to Income Certainty: The shift towards saturation procurement signals structural correction. Recent initiatives aim for 100% procurement of Tur, Urad, and Masoor in selected districts, attempting to replicate cereal-like income assurance while maintaining fiscal prudence.
2. Horizontal Expansion through Rice-Fallow Utilisation: Expanding pulses without compromising cereals. Nearly 11 million hectares of rice fallow land remain underutilised post-monsoon. Converting even a portion to pulses enhances cropping intensity and boosts domestic output sustainably.
3. Seed Systems and Technological Upgradation: Improved seed replacement ratio is central to productivity gains. The ‘One Block, One Seed Village’ initiative and bio-fortified, short-duration varieties developed by ICAR-IIPR (Kanpur) enhance resilience and yield, addressing structural inefficiencies.
4. Decentralised Processing and Market Linkages: Value addition is critical for farmer profitability.
   Establishing local dal mills and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) reduces intermediaries, enhances price discovery, and integrates farmers into organised supply chains.
5. Linking Pulses to Nutritional Security: Pulses are central to combating ‘hidden hunger’.
   Pulses contribute nearly 25% of India’s non-cereal protein intake. Integrating pulses into schemes like PM-POSHAN (Mid-Day Meal) and ICDS strengthens protein security and aligns with Sustainable Development Goal-2 (Zero Hunger).

Sustainable Agricultural Growth through Ecological Synergy

1. Soil Health and Nitrogen Fixation: Pulses act as natural soil regenerators. Their nitrogen-fixing properties reduce urea dependency, complementing initiatives like PM-PRANAM and promoting climate-smart agriculture.
2. Reducing Import Bill and Forex Outflow: Self-sufficiency enhances economic resilience.
   Lowering pulse imports reduces exposure to global commodity volatility and strengthens food sovereignty.

Conclusion

As Dr. M.S. Swaminathan emphasised, food security must evolve into nutritional security; structural reforms in pulses can transform India’s protein economy while ensuring ecological sustainability and farmer prosperity.