Pursuing a farm strategy to augment production of cash crops, the Uttar Pradesh government is targetting to increase the pulses crop area by 20 percent to more than 3 million tonnes (MT).
Against the pulses’ acreage of 2.56 MT in 2024-25, the state is looking at an acreage of almost 3.1 MT in 2025-26.
The average productivity of pulses in Uttar Pradesh is more than 12 quintals (100 kg) per hectare, which is significantly higher than the national average of 9.26 quintals per hectare.
Uttar Pradesh is among the top pulses producers in India. It ranked 4th in 2024–25 with a production of 3.08 million tonnes (MT), which is roughly 12 percent of the country's aggregate pulses production of 25.68 MT.
India is among the world's largest producers and consumers of pulses, yet it imports 15 to 20 percent of its annual demand to overcome production shortfall.
In the financial year 2024-25, imports jumped to over 7 MT, primarily from Canada, Russia, Australia, Myanmar, Africa etc.
Meanwhile, the Yogi Adityanath government has accorded emphasis to the distribution of high-quality seeds under the Pulses Self-Reliance Mission.
In 2025–26, more than 105,000 quintals of certified seeds were distributed under different schemes.
Under the free seed minikit scheme, about 30,000 quintals of quality seeds were distributed in UP, which benefitted almost 300,000 farmers.
During the Rabi season of 2025-26, a special programme is being implemented to cultivate lentils over 40,000 hectares; and urad and moong over 1,00,000 hectares during the Zaid season.
India also imports more than 50 percent of its edible oil consumption.
As such, agri experts have suggested increasing the domestic production and productivity of oilseeds and pulses for self-reliance.
UP produces roughly 21 percent of the total food grains; 10.8 percent fruits; and 15.4 percent of the vegetables in India. The agricultural sector contributes over 25 percent to the Uttar Pradesh Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
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