Union Government today said that more than one hundred improved and high-yielding species of pulses have been developed in five years. Speaking at the international event held in Rome to celebrate World Pulses Day through video conferencing, Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar said, India is focusing on improving varieties of seeds, bringing new areas under pulses cultivation and market, which will help in increasing the profit of the farmers.

 
He said, Pulse crops research has received new direction and unprecedented work has been done towards developing new and improved species. India accounts for 23.62 per cent of world’s total pulses production in 2019-20.
 

The Minister said, India is the biggest producer and consumer of pulses in the world and it has almost achieved self-sufficiency in pulses. He said, in the last five to six years, India has increased pulses production from 140 lakh tonnes to more than 240 lakh tonnes. Mr Tomar said, government is going to build ten thousand new Farmers’ Producer Organizations, FPOs in the country with the outlay of six thousand 850 crore rupees in five years. He said, this will collectively enable farmers for seed production, purchase and access to better technologies.