FOOD FORWARD PULSES & BEYOND SUNIL PATWARI SEASONS OVERSEAS
PULSES & BEYOND SUNIL PATWARI SEASONS OVERSEAS
shaping up in India and whether it will provide price support or not. We're seeing dynamics shift hugely across the world. On one hand, India is aiming for self-sufficiency, and on the other, we have new suppliers of pigeon pea and black matpe possibly emerging. What's your perspective? I'm not very positive about the overall scenario. When any country grows specific pulses that depend on only one or two countries for consumption, there should be a clear policy in place. Take Africa, for example. They've grown from producing 200,000-300,000 tonnes to about 700,000-800,000 tonnes this year, with potential for more. But does India really need more pigeon peas from other countries? There's a contradiction here. India says they want to be self- sufficient, yet they're encouraging farmers in different countries to grow
pigeon peas. If these countries grow pigeon peas, what happens in terms of policy support? If there's a clear policy, it makes sense for these countries to produce. Without a clear policy, the offtake risk is too high. How do countries like Brazil and Russia compare to those in Africa when it comes to growing new crops to export? The Russian playing field versus the African playing field are totally different. Africa has more small farmers with small lands, which allows for more flexibility in what they grow. Russia, on the other hand, can operate on a very large scale. Look at peas as an example. When Russia started growing peas, they produced about 50,000-100,000 tonnes. Now we're talking about millions of tonnes. So anything can happen - Russia could potentially produce a large volume of pigeon peas and black matpe.
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