Supreme Court flags duty-free yellow dal imports affecting pulses crop diversification policy

The case Kisan Mahapanchayat v. Union of India highlighted tensions between import policy and domestic agriculture, especially affecting pulses and crop diversification efforts.

Crop Diversification & Policy Issues :

Aspect	Key Details
Issue in News	Duty-free import of yellow dal challenged for depressing domestic prices and discouraging farmers.
Crop Diversification	Introduction of new crops/cropping systems to improve income and sustainability.
Key Schemes	CDP (PM-RKVY), Mission for Aatmanirbharata on Pulses, NMEO-Oilseeds, MIDH.
Dominance Issue	Over-reliance on wheat-paddy cycle leading to neglect of pulses and oilseeds.
Environmental Need	Reduces groundwater depletion and soil degradation.
Nutritional Security	Promotes balanced diets through increased pulse consumption.
Soil Health	Pulses fix nitrogen and improve soil fertility.
MSP Challenge	Pulses often sold below MSP due to weak procurement mechanisms.
Policy Mismatch	Import policies not aligned with MSP, affecting farmer incentives.
Other Challenges	Lack of infrastructure, awareness, capital, technical knowledge and climate risks.
Governance	Better inter-ministerial coordination and long-term stable policy.
MSP	Ensure remunerative MSP and guaranteed procurement platform.
Import Policy	Align import duties with MSP to protect domestic farmers.