Ali, M. and Gupta, S.
(2012)
Carrying capacity of Indian agriculture: pulse crops.
Current Science, 102 (6).
pp. 874-881.
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Abstract
India is the largest producer, consumer, importer and
processor of pulses in the world. Ironically, the country’s
pulse production has been hovering around 14–
15 Mt, coming from a near-stagnated area of 22–
23 M ha, since 1990–91. For meeting the demand of
the growing population, the country is importing
pulses to the tune of 2.5–3.5 Mt every year. Strong
upward trend in the import of pulses is a cause of concern,
since an increase in demand from India has
shown to have cascading effect on international prices,
thus draining the precious foreign exchange. By 2050,
the domestic requirements would be 26.50 Mt, necessitating
stepping up production by 81.50%, i.e. 11.9 Mt
additional produce at 1.86% annual growth rate. This
uphill task has to be accomplished under more severe
production constraints, especially abiotic stresses,
abrupt climatic changes, emergence of new species/
strains of insect-pests and diseases, and increasing
deficiency of secondary and micronutrients in the soil.
This requires a two-pronged proactive strategy, i.e.
improving per unit productivity and reducing cost of
production. This article describes the present availability
of pulses, demand projections in different timeframes,
future challenges, and technology drivers for
increasing pulse production in the country. A scheme
has also been suggested for achieving self-sufficiency
in pulses by 2050.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Climate change, Growth projections, Pulses, Technology drivers. |
| Author Affiliation: |
Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur 208 024, India |
| Subjects: |
Agricultural Engineering |
| Divisions: |
General |
| Depositing User: |
Mr B Krishnamurthy
|
| Date Deposited: |
25 Oct 2016 09:47 |
| Last Modified: |
25 Oct 2016 09:47 |
| URI: |
http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/14412 |
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