Uttar Pradesh farmers take up cultivation of lucrative pulses

Lucknow, Dec 20 (ANI): A majority of farmers in Uttar Pradesh diversified from their traditional crops and took up cultivation of pulses not only for self-consumption but also capitalise on the yield since the markets offered good prices.

Thus these enterprising farmers are all set to reap it rich.

"We were not able to buy pulses from the market as the prices were very high due to which our families were not able to eat Dal (dish cooked from lentils). This is why we cultivated pulses in our fields. Now with a high yield, a normal man will be able to buy them," said Vishwanath, a farmer.

"We sowed this crop because the prices of the pulses were very high and we were not able to feed our families with the lentils. Also, due to rainfall, our cultivation had to suffer huge losses last year. So we shifted to pulse cultivation so that we can earn more profits," said Rajendra Kumar, another farmer.

This year, India received the worst monsoon rains since 1972, and floods in some parts of the country have hurt summer crops and pushed up food prices.

India's annual wholesale price inflation was 1.34 percent in October, but the benign numbers just reflect the high base effect of prices from a year ago, and hide the real rise in prices of food articles. The wholesale price index (WPI) has already risen over six percent from the beginning of the 2009-10 financial year that started in April.

Latest data released by the government has shown that food prices in the country have accelerated by 19 percent in a year. (ANI)