Agriculture minister demands dedicated pulses package, seed hub from Centre

Patna: At the national pulse conference held in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, state agriculture minister Ram Kripal Yadav said Bihar required special cooperation and solid policy support from the central govt, including approval of a dedicated pulse package designed around the state’s geography, climate, and rain-fed farming conditions.

He urged that arhar, chana, masoor, urad, and moong be recognised as Bihar’s state-specific pulse crops.Yadav also attended the national-level consultation programme under the National Pulses Self-Reliance Mission at the Food Legumes Research Centre (FLRP) at Amalha in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh. The event highlighted the mission’s focus on research-backed expansion of pulse production and stronger institutional support for farmers.Yadav demanded the establishment of a national-level seed hub in Bihar with 100% central assistance, ensuring farmers receive high-yielding, short-duration, disease-resistant seeds. He also called for a cluster-based farming model with an integrated per-cluster package covering irrigation, seed, machinery, and training. He sought up to 90% central subsidy for drip and sprinkler systems in pulse areas, along with support for farm ponds and water harvesting in rain-fed regions.

Yadav further demanded additional central assistance for specialised machinery for sowing, harvesting, and threshing, and linkage of custom hiring centres to the mission. He emphasised MSP procurement and requested permanent procurement centres through NAFED and FCI. For value addition, he sought capital subsidy for pulse mills, processing and packaging units, and promotion of FPO-led processing.He also asked for research grants to Krishi Vigyan Kendras, field demonstrations, model plots, digital advisories, low-premium crop insurance with quick compensation, and a Centre-state joint pulses task force, targeting Bihar’s self-reliance in five years.