Unanticipated Dividends of Technology Dissemination: Experiences of Cluster Frontline Demonstrations of Pulses (CFLD-P) in India

The present study is the analysis of large scale data (31949 ha area and 79873 farmers) generated through the CFLD on pulses across the major pulses growing states under the ICAR-ATARIs of Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Pune (Maharashtra), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Kolkota (West Bengal), Guwahati (Assam), Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Bangalurue (Karnataka) and Patna (Bihar) for the period of 2016–18. The pulse crops included for the present analysis represented the crops of all three growing seasons namely kharif (pigeon pea-5556 ha, black gram-6067 ha and green gram-2689 ha), rabi (chickpea-8376 ha, lentil-3747 ha and field pea-1890 ha) and summer (green gram-3624 ha). The average performance data of CFLD were obtained for the above states for the above crops representing all three growing seasons during the cropping seasons of 2016–17 and 2017–18. Thus, CFLD data were analyzed from across minimum of 13 states (green gram) and maximum of 19 states (black gram). The CFLD-P, though intended for ensuring productivity of profitability advantages at farmers’ level, the unintended dividends emanated through these CFLDs were analyzed using the research variables viz., likely diffusion of the produce as the quality seed (upto second generation), the nutritional advantages accrued due to the surplus availability of various pulses for protein, minerals, carbohydrates and energy; soil nutrient especially N₂ enrichment and economic impact in terms of growth rate of export, import, production and per capita availability during the pulses development period (2012-13 to 2017–18) as compared to the base year of2005-06 to 2009–10 for all the pulses. The analysis showed that more than 12 percent area may be anticipated to bring under improved pulses varieties in a couple of years as result of seed diffusion due to CFLD-P. Likewise, there was enormous magnitude of nutritional security to be ensured for the Indian population in terms of major nutrients supplemented by the different pulses generated through CFLD-P programme. Not only the human nutrition, the soil nutrient especially N₂ has been worked out to be immensely added to soil through the natural process of N₂ fixation by the pulse crops which has very significant economic value. And finally, on economic front, the actual data from Government record showed that pulses import has declined and export has been marginally increased (1.07%) and this has become possible mainly because of the large scale demonstration and development programme for the pulses as rolled out by the Government of India