Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Piyush Goyal on Thursday expressed happiness at the rise in the production and quality of agriculture products to make India self-sufficient and for also enabling export of over $50 billion of agri-related products.

He thanked the farmers of India for their contribution towards making India self-sufficient and making the country a large producer of food grains, pulses, lentils, vegetables, fruits, and said that this has led to expansion both in production and quality of different food products to make India an exporter of over $50 billion of agri and related products.

Over the last decade due to the commitment and capabilities of the farmers, pulses production has grown by 60 per cent from 171 lakh tonnes in 2014 to 270 lakh tonne in 2024, he said.

The minister was speaking at the NAFED: Pulse 2024 Convention organised by the Global Pulse Confederation in cooperation with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).

“The partnership between NAFED and GPC will continue to grow to make pulses not only India’s wonder-diet but to make the wonder-diet of the world,” said Piyush Goyal.

Further speaking on Bharat Dal, he said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government launched the India pulse to support the farmers of the country and ensure the availability of reasonably-priced pulses for Indian citizens.

He said the government-procured chana dal retailed under the ‘Bharat’ brand has already captured 25 per cent of the market share of lentil gram in four months of its launch.

Minister Goyal further elaborated, that the high ratings the Bharat Dal has received from customer reviews on various e-commerce sites demonstrates the farmers’ ability to produce high-quality pulses and with the support of the government can become the affordable food for the common man.

Over the last decade government procurement of pulses has increased by 18 times, he said.

In 2015, the government introduced buffer stock to ensure moderate prices and price stability shielding the consumers from the food inflation that hit many countries including the developed world reeling with a 40-year high of inflation, the Commerce Minister noted.

“India was the bright spot with among the lowest inflation rates and has been able to reign in double digit inflation to 5-5.5% in the last decade”, he said.

Minister Goyal said that Minimum Support Price (MSP) today assures a price 50% over the actual cost of production to our farmers, thereby providing an attractive return on investment.

The Union minister also said that the MSP is the highest today which increases as high as 117 per cent in Masoor, 90 per cent in Moong, 75 per cent more in chana dal, 60 per cent more in Toor and Urad over the amount provided a decade back.

The NAFED and NCCF are encouraging farmers to diversify into pulses and lentils and are willing to provide assured prices for five-year contracts for government procurement, a massive step for the Government of India.

India is the largest producer and 5th largest exporter of millets in the world and the government is also putting similar focus on pulses and lentils as with millets and urged the industry leaders in attendance to provide suggestions and guidance to improve productivity and grow the pulse industry, he highlighted.