Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Jun 2: Despite efforts by the Centre to boost domestic output of pulses and oilseeds—key imports that fuel inflation government procurement remains heavily skewed in favour of cereals like wheat and rice, according to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report.

While procurement of pulses and oilseeds has increased in recent years under schemes like PM-AASHA, it still pales in comparison to cereals. In the 2024-25 crop year, the Centre procured 77.86 million tonnes of cereals, but only 4.6 million tonnes of pulses and a mere 0.6 million tonnes of oilseeds.

India's food procurement system is centred around minimum support prices (MSP), which guarantee farmers at least 50% returns over their cost of cultivation. Although MSPs for pulses and oilseeds are higher than for cereals, the actual procurement of these crops remains inconsistent.

“Government procurement is vital to encourage farmers to grow more pulses, but current levels are insufficient to shift cropping patterns meaningfully,” said Abhishek Agrawal of UN Comtrade.

Inconsistent procurement trends are evident in official data presented in Parliament. For instance, in 2019-20, the Centre procured 2.8 million tonnes of pulses, which dropped sharply to 0.81 million tonnes in 2020-21, before fluctuating again in subsequent years.

The government has announced that from 2025-26 to 2028-29, it will procure 100% of pigeon pea (tur), black gram (urad), and yellow lentil (masoor) production from states to achieve self-sufficiency. These purchases will be made under the Price Support Scheme (PSS), part of the PM-AASHA umbrella.

Officials admit cereals dominate procurement due to larger marketable surpluses and the need to maintain food grain reserves for 800 million beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act.

Analysts say that while the policy direction is clear, the Centre needs to scale up efforts on the ground to make pulses and oilseeds procurement more effective and sustainable.