Farmers Show Strong Interest in Rabi Pulse Cultivation

30-Oct-2025 04:21 PM

New Delhi. Indian farmers are showing strong interest in cultivating pulses during the current Rabi season, driven by a significant increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and favorable weather conditions.

Sowing is still in its early stages, and it appears that the area under chickpea production, especially gram, may increase.

Since the government has now imposed a 30 percent import duty on yellow peas, the market price of pulses is expected to improve somewhat. Therefore, the acreage under chickpea, along with lentils and peas, may also improve.

According to official data, the total area under pulses production at the national level has improved to 4.50 lakh hectares in the current Rabi season, reaching 8.74 percent higher than the 4.38 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year.

Under this, the area sown for gram, in particular, increased by 10.38 percent from 2.89 lakh hectares to 3.19 lakh hectares. However, the area under lentils decreased by 29 percent from 69 thousand hectares to 49 thousand hectares, and the area under peas fell by 28 percent from 50 thousand hectares to 36 thousand hectares.

A good increase is being seen in the sowing of horse gram and black gram. Rahul Chauhan, Director of iGrain India, says that in the major producing states, the soil has sufficient moisture. Where the moisture content is high, farmers can prioritize sowing wheat over lentils.

This year, the weather is expected to be cooler than normal, which will prove beneficial for the wheat crop. There may be some improvement in the sowing of peas.