Shivraj Singh Chouhan To Convene National Seminar On Pulses In MP's Sehore Tomorrow

(MENAFN- IANS) Bhopal, Feb 6 (IANS) Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, will chair the National Pulses Conference at the Food Legumes Research Platform (FLRP) in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district of Amlaha, aimed at accelerating India's push towards 'self-reliance' in pulses.

The day-long event, scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m., on Saturday, will be attended by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav as the special guest.

Agriculture Ministers from major pulses-producing states, including Odisha, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, have confirmed their participation.

The conference will focus on the "National Mission for Pulses Self-Reliance", with detailed deliberations on increasing production and productivity, improving seed quality, value addition in pulses and enhancing farmers' income.

"Participants will include scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), farmers, farmer producer organisations, seed producers, policymakers and industry representatives," officials said.

During the programme, Union Minister Chouhan and Chief Minister Yadav will jointly inaugurate state-of-the-art research laboratories and training facilities at FLRP, a premier centre dedicated to pulses research.

Union Minister Chouhan will also inspect ongoing field trials and interact directly with farmers to understand ground-level challenges.

A key highlight will be the launch of the dedicated "Pulses Mission portal", which will serve as a digital platform for real-time monitoring of production, procurement and distribution under the mission.

Improved high-yielding varieties of pigeon pea, chickpea, lentil and other pulses developed by ICAR institutes will be formally released and distributed to progressive farmers during the event.

Speaking ahead of the conference, officials said the initiative aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' in pulses, prosperous farmers and a protein-secure nation.

India currently imports a significant quantity of pulses despite being the largest producer globally, and the mission targets complete self-sufficiency by 2027 through area expansion, productivity enhancement and better price realisation for farmers.

The Sehore conference is expected to finalise a time-bound action plan involving Central and state governments to achieve these ambitious targets.

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