Amit Shah launches Tur dal procurement portal and sets 2027 as self-sufficient in pulses
Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah launched a tur dal procurement portal on Thursday, allowing farmers to register and sell their produce to NAFED and NCCF at a minimum support price (MSP) or market price. A similar procurement facility for pulses, like urad and masoor cultivators, as well as maize farmers, will be launched in the future, he stated.
The Minister also transferred ₹ 68 lakh to 25 farmers via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) as payment for the sale of tur through the portal.
Cooperative The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) buy pulses on behalf of the government to keep a buffer stock.
Following the launch, the Minister stated that before sowing, tur farmers can register on the portal to sell their produce to NAFED and NCCF at the minimum support price (MSP).
Registered tur farmers will have the option of selling to NAFED/NCCF or the open market, he said, adding that if the open market price of tur remains higher than the MSP, an average rate will be determined using a formula.
More farmers, according to Shah, are not farming pulses because prices are uncertain. With procurement through the portal, the initiative will bring significant reform to the agricultural sector and aid in achieving self-sufficiency in pulse production.
“Tur will be procured from farmers, and it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantee,” he went on to say. The Minister stated that the country is still dependent on imports of some pulse varieties, except chana and moong, and that “by December 2027, the country should become self-sufficient in pulses.” From January 2028, we will not import a single kilo of pulses.”
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He urged Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS), Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs), and progressive farmers to spread the word about the portal and encourage farmers to use it.
Pulses production has increased in the last ten years, from 19.2 million tonnes in the 2013–14 crop year (July–June) to 26.05 million tonnes in 2022–23, owing to a more than twofold increase in the minimum support price, he said.
However, domestic production of pulses is still insufficient to meet demand, necessitating imports.
Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, Minister of State for Cooperation B. L. Verma, and Consumer Affairs Minister Ashwini Choubey were also in attendance at the event.
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