Recent indications from the United States that a trade agreement may obligate India to purchase American pulses have raised political and economic concerns.
Supply–Demand Gap and Significance of Pulses
- Nutritional Significance: Pulses provide nearly 25 per cent of non-cereal protein intake in India, especially among economically weaker sections, and support five crore farmers and their families.
- Global Position: India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses, yet it remains one of the largest importers.
- Persistent Deficit: The annual national demand for pulses is approximately 3 crore tonnes, while domestic production is around 2.5 crore tonnes.
- This gap of nearly 50 lakh tonnes is met through imports, making the country vulnerable to global price fluctuations and trade pressures.
Farmer Apprehensions
- Fear of Price Depression: Farmers expressed concern that an influx of cheaper imported pulses would reduce domestic market prices.
- Given the fragile price realisation in pulses, such imports can significantly affect farmer incomes.
- Trust Deficit: Although the government clarified that there is no binding obligation to import US pulses, scepticism remains among farmers due to past experiences of sudden import liberalisation during price rise.
Structural Failures in Procurement
- Weak Institutional Support: Pulses lack a consistent and effective procurement framework, unlike wheat and rice, which benefit from robust procurement mechanisms through agencies such as the FCI (Food Corporation of India).
- Distressed Sales Below MSP: Many States also have inadequate procurement centres, forcing farmers to sell to private traders regardless of the official MSP. As a result, farmers are incentivised to underinvest in pulses, leading to a vicious cycle.
- Low Procurement Share: Between 2019 and 2024, government procurement accounted for only 2.9-12.4 per cent of total production.
- Nearly 90 per cent of pulse farmers do not receive MSP-backed price assurance.
Structural Constraints in the Pulses Sector
- Agro-Climatic Vulnerability: A substantial share of pulses is cultivated in rain-dependent regions with limited irrigation coverage, making yields entirely dependent on rainfall and less competitive than international producers.
- Consumer-Centric Policy: The government’s policy is viewed as biased toward consumers.
- As soon as pulse prices rise, the government opens up imports to control inflation, which crashes domestic prices and discourages farmers from planting pulses the following year.
- Self-Reinforcing Production Instability: This cycle of price volatility and lack of support leads to recurring shortages.
Government Initiative for Pulses
- Self-Sufficiency Mission: In October 2025, the government launched a pulses self-sufficiency mission with an outlay of ₹11,440 crore. The objective is to increase production to 350 lakh tonnes by 2030–31.
Way Forward
- Assured Physical Procurement: MSP must be backed by guaranteed physical procurement to ensure stable and predictable income for farmers.
- Strengthening Infrastructure: Expansion of storage, warehousing, and functional procurement centres is necessary to prevent post-harvest losses and distress sales.
- Productivity Enhancement: Investment in high-yielding seeds, extension services, and irrigation support for rain-fed areas is essential to improve output and competitiveness.
- Environmental Incentives: Farmers should be incentivised for the soil-enriching and fertiliser-saving benefits of pulses.
- Shift to Farmer-Centric Policy: Achieving protein self-sufficiency requires a shift from a predominantly consumer-focused price-control strategy to a balanced approach that ensures income stability, production incentives, and long-term sustainability for farmers.
- Until procurement, productivity, and price assurance are comprehensively reformed, farmers will remain vulnerable, and trade negotiations involving pulses will continue to trigger political backlash.
Conclusion
Food security cannot be secured at the cost of farm security. Sustainable self-sufficiency in pulses requires institutional reform, not episodic import management.
13 Feb 2026
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