With 75-100 per cent production losses of pulses caused by cold waves and frost-like conditions few months earlier, Madhya Pradesh authorities now claim that pulses production is expected to touch a new record.
For some time, the state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan raised the issue before the Centre and has been demanding financial support for ‘tur’ crop losses, which was damaged to irrecoverable stages in most areas. Now reports of bumper crop are pouring in.
The state chief minister had criticised the Centre for not extending support to pulse growers in the state as frost does not fall under the ambit of natural calamity in a central government Act. He also had series of meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard and had demanded Rs 2,500 crore assistance towards the same few months back.
R Parasuram, agriculture production commissioner and additional chief secretary of farmers welfare and agriculture development department, said, “Both the facts are correct, results of crop production are pouring in and we have a record high production.”
The state has retained the top pulses-producing state status, if one goes by the data given by the department. Pulses production is likely to go up by 500,000 tonnes this year, accordingly Madhya Pradesh — having produced 42,73,000 metric tonne pulses last year — is expected to touch 46,41,000 tonne and even more this year.
During 2008-09, the state produced 37,09,000 tonne pulses, which increased by 15 per cent and reached 42,73,000 tonne last year. It includes 3,08,000 tonne of pigeon-pea (tur) and 33,04,000 tonne of Chana dal (gram).
Chickpeas (chana), pigeon-peas (arhar or tur dal), urad beans, moong beans and red lentils (masoor) are the top five pulses grown in Madhya Pradesh. It produces 94 per cent of pigeon-pea and 28-30 per cent of gram produced in the country.
This year, intense frost-like conditions had reportedly destroyed almost the entire ‘tur’ crop in the main belt of Narsinghur, Hoshangbad, Raisen, Jabalpur and Bhopal. Almost all districts reported severe crop losses and the state agriculture department disbursed an amount of Rs 1,359 crore to the pulse growers from the state budget. Last month, the chief minister also raised the issue of frost-hit farmers and crop losses before the Prime Minister and curtailed down his demand to the mentioned amount.