Beyond Minimum Support Price: What Drives Chickpea Supply Response in India’s Major Producing States? Evidence-based recommendations for achieving self-sufficiency in pulse production

Paramasivam, R and Jyosthnaa, P and Das, A and Kumar, S and Malaiarasan, U and Nedumaran, S (2026) Beyond Minimum Support Price: What Drives Chickpea Supply Response in India’s Major Producing States? Evidence-based recommendations for achieving self-sufficiency in pulse production. [Policy Briefs]

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Abstract

Pulses anchor India’s protein and nutrition security, yet the country is both the world’s largest producer and largest importer of pulses. Production has not kept pace with demand: total pulse demand is projected to reach about 32 million t by 2030 and the shortfall is routinely met through imports. This dependence carries significant costs: per-capita pulse consumption has fallen from 22.2 kg a year in 1950–51 to 17.2 kg in 2022–23, close to 80% of households consume less protein than recommended, and a rising pulse import bill widens the trade deficit while exposing consumers to sharp price volatility (Kumar et al. 2025). Within this basket, chickpea is the crop with the greatest leverage to close the gap. It is India’s dominant pulse, cultivated on about 10.1 million ha with production of 11.6 million t, accounting for roughly 70% of the world’s chickpea area and 72% of its production. As the principal rabi pulse, it accounts for close to 70% of India’s rabi pulse output (NITI Aayog 2025). Yet its performance has been uneven: over the past three decades, chickpea area and yield have expanded in some regions while stalling in others, and the crop is increasingly exposed to rising temperatures. Understanding the factors that influence chickpea area and yield is therefore central to a credible strategy for pulse self-sufficiency.

Item Type:	Policy Briefs
Divisions:	Global Research Program - Enabling Systems Transformation
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	pulse production, self-sufficiency, chickpea, India
Subjects:	Mandate crops > Chickpea Others > India
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	06 Aug 2026 05:40
Last Modified:	06 Aug 2026 05:40
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/13649
Acknowledgement:	The authors gratefully acknowledge CGIAR Science Policy Innovation, for its funding, support and collaboration. The authors also thank Dr Ramarao of the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture for his critical review and valuable comments, which has helped in enhancing the quality of the policy brief.
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