More Stories

Informist, Friday, Mar. 13, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – Observing that the government must encourage farmers to shift from cultivation of wheat and rice towards pulses, the Supreme Court directed several ministries to work with better coordination and understanding under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, particularly in northern and central India. "We have to see if we need as much paddy and wheat as much we are producing. Wheat is not the only option now," said a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. "Time to move on from wheat and rice."

 

The court asked the government to reassess its long-standing focus on wheat and rice cultivation. The government should consider a new policy framework that encourages farmers to grow alternative crops, especially pulses, said the court. It also noted that the government was already pushing for diversification in agricultural practices. 

 

Farmers, especially small-scale growers, must receive enough incentives to adopt alternative crops, said the court. "Incentivised Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be enough for small-scale farmers to produce pulses including timely sale of the product coupled with the fixation of price of yellow pea which is fixed in such a manner that it does not adversely impact the homegrown pulses by the farmers," said the bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

 

The apex court asked the Centre to examine the issues on a public interest litigation filed by Kisan Mahapanchayat, a farmers' organisation, seeking quashing of the government's notification to extend duty-free import of yellow peas until Mar. 31, 2026. "We have impressed upon ASG (Additional Solicitor General) to convene meetings of stakeholders so as to revisit existing policy framework and explore a better substitute under which farmers are incentivised for diversification of conventional crops to pulses along with certain benefits as illustrated above," said the court. "We hope the ministry will be able to resolve the issue with a new policy regime. Let deliberation details be placed on record." 

 

Wheat and rice production in north India is facing significant challenges primarily due to climate change, including rising temperatures and erratic rainfall, severe groundwater depletion, and degrading soil health from intensive monocropping. Rising heat during the grain-filling stage has reduced wheat yields, while excessive rice cultivation has strained water resources.

 

The top court was hearing the petition seeking a direction to the government to impose such restrictions on the import of yellow peas so as to ensure the price at which these were sold in India were at or above the minimum support price of domestically grown pulses. Further, the petitioner sought prohibition of import of yellow peas, as had been recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, in order to protect Indian farmers and boost domestic production.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.