ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has become self-sufficient in mung bean production as the first estimate of the crop for 2021-22 records the legume output at 253,000 tonnes against the national requirement of about 180,000 tonnes.

The self-sufficiency in mung bean — a major edible legume in Asia — was announced during the annual review and planning meeting for Rabi 2021-22 on Thursday. The meeting was organised by the Pakistan Agricultural Research Cou­ncil (PARC) for its Public Sector Development Prog­ramme-funded project ‘Pro­moting Research for Prod­uctivity Enhancement in Pulses’.

Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhr Imam, who attended the annual review meeting, said the government was willing to take steps for promoting production of pulses in the country if strategies like the one adopted by PARC are brainstormed and implemented in letter and spirit. The proposed buyback mechanism will be profitable for the farmers and will certainly entice the farmers to cultivate pulse commodities, he added.

In his presentation on the impact of the project, PARC National Coordinator of Plant Sciences Division Dr Muhammad Mansoor Joyia said the area under mung bean during 2020-21 incr­eased by 35 per cent while production increased by 65pc in Punjab, 6pc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 17pc in Balochistan.

At the same time, cultivation area under mash bean increased by 19pc, while production increased by 27pc in Balochistan. He further explained that the area under chickpea increased by 22pc and production by 23pc. The area under lentil increased by 17.5pc and the production increased in Balochistan by 18pc.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2021