Tapping into Eastern India’s rice fallows can bridge the country’s pulse productivity gap

The shortfall in pulse production in India can be achieved by tapping into nearly 6-7million hectares of rice fallows in Eastern India. For this to happen, the risk averse smallholder farmers in this region need policy and technology support. Exposure to rural entrepreneurship and encouraging farmer producer organizations will help in the long run.

By Ranjit Kumar , Principal Scientist, Theme on Policy and Impact Asia Region Program, International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)