Yogi govt pushes for boosting pulses and oilseeds production

Lucknow : In a bid to ensure food price stability and strengthen food security, the Yogi Adityanath-led government has intensified efforts to increase the production of pulses and oilseeds, two essential kitchen staples in every Indian household.

Given their sensitivity to price fluctuations and high demand across India’s 140 crore population, even a slight increase in demand can significantly impact international markets and lead to price hikes, especially affecting high-population states like Uttar Pradesh. To prevent such scenarios and ensure affordability of essentials like pulses and cooking oil for the common man, the state is working to boost production. This includes encouraging farmers to increase the cultivation area and ensuring they receive fair prices for their produce.

The double-engine government—led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the state—has made focused interventions in this sector. Recently, the central government hiked the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for key kharif crops, with pulses and oilseeds witnessing increases ranging from 81% to 172% over the past decade. While the lowest increase was 81% for groundnut, the highest—172%—was for niger seed.

Alongside price support, the government is also actively educating and assisting farmers to adopt better practices. As part of the country’s largest-ever agricultural campaign, Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, farmers are being trained in advanced cultivation techniques for pulses and oilseeds. Under this campaign, the Yogi government is distributing 4,58,000 free minikits to progressive farmers. These include 1,05,000 kits of pulses like urad, moong, and arhar; 1,00,000 kits for sesame (til); and 6,000 kits for groundnut.

The government is also implementing dedicated schemes like the Dalhan-Tilhan Mission and the Dalhan Gram Yojana to expand cultivation. Moreover, pulses have been included under the state’s ambitious One District, One Product (ODOP) initiative.

According to data released by the state government, oilseed production in Uttar Pradesh was only 12.40 lakh metric tonnes in 2016–17. By 2023–24, it had increased to 20.31 lakh metric tonnes — a remarkable growth of 128%. A similar increase has also been seen in pulse crops. This upward trend in the area and yield of both pulses and oilseeds is expected to continue in the future through ambitious schemes like the UP AGREES project, which is being implemented with support from the World Bank and focuses on regions like Bundelkhand and Purvanchal.

Increase in MSP over last decade (Increase in rupees per quintal)

Crop MSP (₹)% Increase
Arhar (Tur) 8,000 86%
Moong 8,768 95%
Urad 7,800 81%
Groundnut 7,263 82%
Sunflower 7,721 109%
Soybean 5,328 108%
Sesame (Til) 9,846 119%
Niger Seed 9,537 172%