Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has given the green light for the purchase of key pulses and oilseeds worth ₹13,890.60 crore in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat for the 2025-26 kharif season. This step is aimed at offering farmers fair prices and protecting them from sudden price drops in lentils.
Chouhan approved full procurement of urad (black lentil) and tur (pigeon pea) from farmers. He also cleared the purchase of moong (green gram), sesame, and groundnut in Uttar Pradesh, and soybean, moong, and groundnut in Gujarat.
Approved Quantities in Uttar Pradesh
In Uttar Pradesh, 100% procurement of 227,000 tonnes of urad worth ₹1,777.30 crore, 114,000 tonnes of tur worth ₹910.24 crore, and 1,983 tonnes of moong worth ₹17.38 crore has been approved. Additionally, 30,410 tonnes of sesame valued at ₹299.42 crore and 99,438 tonnes of groundnut worth ₹722.22 crore will be purchased.
Approved Quantities in Gujarat
For Gujarat, the approved procurement includes 47,780 tonnes of urad valued at ₹372.68 crore, 110,000 tonnes of soybean worth ₹585.57 crore, 1.26 million tonnes of groundnut valued at ₹9,167.08 crore, and 4,415 tonnes of moong worth ₹38.71 crore.
Sowing Areas for Pulses and Oilseeds
The total area for sowing pulses in 2025-26 kharif increased by 0.75% compared to 2024-25, thanks to good monsoon and government focus on pulses. By 19 September, urad sowing rose by 6.6% to 2.40 million hectares. Tur and moong sowing areas fell slightly by 0.50% to 4.6 million hectares and 3.48 million hectares, respectively, while other pulses grew by 2.1% to 446,000 hectares. For oilseeds, groundnut sowing went up by 0.74% to 4.81 million hectares. Soybean area decreased to 12 million hectares from 12.6 million hectares in 2024-25, a fall of 4.6%.
Digital and Transparent Procurement
In a virtual meeting with Uttar Pradesh agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi and Gujarat agriculture minister Raghavji Patel, Chouhan emphasized that procurement should be smooth, digital, and transparent. Both states assured that purchases would use digital portals with biometric verification and point-of-sale machines – about 350 in UP and 400 in Gujarat.
Letters have been sent to the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) for farmer pre-registration. This ensures only registered farmers can sell crops at minimum support prices. All procurement will be handled digitally via e-Samriddhi and e-Samyukti portals, with payments directly into farmers’ bank accounts. Chouhan added that approved quantities may be adjusted after the first advance estimates for kharif 2025-26 to give farmers the best possible benefit.
