The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) will partner with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research to promote pulses cultivation in about 60,000 villages, according to Icrisat director general William Dar.
Speaking to the media here on Thursday, Dar said India was the world’s largest pulses consumer but relied on imports to meet the demand. They were mainly from Myanmar and Thailand, Tanzania and other countries.
The new effort would be to encourage pulses cultivation and thereby keep the prices under check and promote inclusive growth, he said.
About Rs 300 crore has been provided in the recent Budget to organise 60,000 pulses and oil seed villages in rainfed areas during 2010-11. The amount would be utilised to provide an integrated intervention for water harvesting, watershed management and soil health to enhance the productivity of dry land farming areas.
Icrisat, which held its board meeting today, would spend about $55 million (about Rs 250 crore) next year. About 82 per cent of the expenditure would be for research and the remaining would go for administration and management, said Icrisat research committee chair David Hoisington.