%C Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India
%A A A Reddy
%A M C S Bantilan
%A G Mohan
%I International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
%D 2013
%L icrisat6812
%X Historically, India is the largest producer, consumer
and importer of pulses. Although it is the world’s
largest pulses producer, there is still a huge shortage
of pulses and also, the prices are not affordable to
a large section of consumers. An immediate need
is the development and dissemination of low-cost
technologies in pulses production, so that they can
be affordable to the common man. Even though
pulses production increased by 3.35% per annum
during the last decade, the cost of production and
consequent prices are too high to be affordable to the
common man; to increase production at lower cost
is a bigger challenge. The earlier experience shows
that technological efforts need to be supported by
the right policy environment to harvest fruits of R&D
in agriculture (Reddy 2009). Still, the productivity of
pulses in India is low at 694 kg/ha, and to make pulses
production internationally competitive, the average
yield levels need to be increased to at least 1ton/ha...
%T Pulses Production Scenario: Policy and Technological Options(Policy Brief No. 26)