New Delhi, Feb 22 (KNN) In the midst of ongoing farmer protests at the Punjab-Haryana border, a recent NITI Aayog report has underscored the critical need for India to shift its agricultural focus from wheat and rice to pulses and oilseeds.

The report, released this week, emphasises the necessity to bridge the demand-supply gap by 2047-48.

According to the report, under a business-as-usual scenario, India's pulses production is expected to reach around 47 million tonnes (mt) by 2047-48, while demand will surge to nearly 49 mt during the same period, resulting in a gap of almost 2 mt.

The report highlights that without improvements in yield and acreage allocation, this shortfall may persist.

Similarly, for edible oils, the report forecasts a demand of approximately 31 mt by 2047-48, with production expected to reach around 24 mt, creating a gap of around 7 mt.

The report suggests that enhancing oilseeds yield and exploring production from secondary sources could mitigate this gap.

Contrastingly, the report indicates that rice production is expected to outstrip demand, with a projected surplus of 19-26 mt by 2030-31 and 40-67 mt by 2047-48.

This surplus, the report suggests, highlights the necessity for reallocating areas currently under rice and wheat cultivation to other crops.

In an effort to address concerns raised by protesting farmers, the Centre proposed earlier this week to purchase marketable surplus of crops such as lentils, black gram, and maize at Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) over the next five years.

However, this proposal was rejected by farmer unions.

The report outlines two scenarios for its projections: a business-as-usual scenario based on current growth rates and a high-yield growth scenario assuming enhanced productivity.

It suggests that the overall food demand is expected to increase annually by 2.44 per cent by 2047-48 under the former, accelerating to 3.07 per cent with accelerated economic growth.

Overall, the report forecasts food grain demand ranging from 326 mt to 334 mt in 2030-31 and 402 mt to 437 mt in 2047-48, with projected production surpassing demand in both periods, indicating a potential surplus of 10-13 per cent and 5-14 per cent, respectively.

The NITI Aayog report serves as a reminder of the imperative need for agricultural diversification and strategic planning to ensure food security and sustainable agricultural practices in India's future.

(KNN Bureau)