Low production of pulses to affect all

Hyderabad: Consumers and farmers are suffering due to low production of pulses. Consumers are hit by rising prices and farmers are reluctant to grow pulses next season.

B Saxena, a business development manager of an agricultural company providing seeds and technology to farmers, said, “The production of pulses must be made sustainable where growth can be increased by 25 to 30 per cent. This will help meet consumers’ demand and also help the farmers to get the best price.”

Pulse cultivation also helps to fix nitrogen in the soil, thereby enriching it. A senior government official said farmers growing pulses should be rewarded in order to motivate them.

The government machinery also needs to be activated so that farmers are not at the mercy of middlemen.

A senior officer said the government needs to bring about changes so that the farmers are confident about growing pulses.