Revision summary
The UN marked 2016 to highlight pulses as food and as a farming solution. Dal supplies protein and micronutrients beside cereals. Nodules fix nitrogen and spare fertiliser in rotations. Many pulses suit rainfed land and catch-crop slots. Smallholders gain if seed, price, and storage match the crop’s public value.
Model answer
Copper italics in this answer — like this — are the key facts. Each one is unpacked in the Facts & figures rail.
Introduction
The United Nations named 2016 the International Year of Pulses to put beans, lentils, chickpeas, and peas back at the centre of farming and diet. The advantages that justified that year are nutritional, ecological, and economic, especially for dryland and smallholder India.
Body
Nutrition and food security
- Pulses are a cheap plant protein and a source of iron, folate, and fibre for households that eat little meat or milk.
- They complement cereal diets of rice and wheat, which is why dal-roti is a complete-protein idea in ordinary kitchens.
- Low fat and a low glycaemic load help public health where diabetes and hidden hunger sit together.
- Storage as dry grain cuts waste compared with many vegetables, so pulses support buffer stocks and lean-season food.
Soil, water, and climate-smart farming
- Rhizobium in root nodules fixes atmospheric nitrogen, which reduces the urea bill and leaves residual fertility for the next cereal crop in a rotation.
- Many pulses such as moong, urad, arhar, gram, and masoor fit rainfed and residual-moisture lands where rice or sugarcane would thirst.
- Short-duration moong can be a catch crop between wheat and rice, raising cropping intensity without a full extra irrigation season.
- Pulse systems often need less energy than irrigated cereals and can cut greenhouse intensity per protein unit.
Livelihoods and biodiversity
- Small and marginal farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and the north-east already grow pulses; better seed and price support raise cash without a new plantation model.
- A wide set of species and landraces supports farm biodiversity and reduces pest risk compared with a single cereal monoculture.
- Inclusive markets for dal also matter for nutrition schemes and for cutting import dependence when domestic output lags.
Way forward
- Keep the IYP message as more area under pulses on drylands, MSP and procurement that work like wheat, and kitchens that still cook dal.
- Pair cultivation with storage, processing, and research on wilt and drought so the advantages are realised on the field, not only in a UN year.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD U[IYP 2016] --> N[Protein micronutrients] U --> S[Nitrogen fixation] U --> W[Low water dryland] N --> F[Food security] S[S] --> F[F] W[W] --> F[F]
Conclusion
Pulses earned a UN year because they feed people, feed the soil, and fit water-scarce farms. Cultivation advantages are protein, nitrogen, and resilience; policy has to make those advantages pay the grower.
Quick related
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Account for variations in oceanic salinity and discuss its multi-dimensional effects. (250 words).
Next question on this syllabus topic (2017 · Q14). View answer →
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Are pulses only a nutrition topic?
No. The UN year also stressed soil health, small-farm income, and sustainable agriculture.
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Why does India still import pulses if they are so advantageous?
Yield gaps, climate risk, and weaker procurement than wheat and rice keep domestic supply tight in some years.
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