The Bharatpur district of Rajasthan was once widely recognized for its bumper chickpea cultivation and robust pulse production. During the winter season, fields across the region flourished with lush green chickpea crops, playing a vital role in the agricultural economy of the district. However, as time progressed, farmers shifted their agricultural practices, causing the area dedicated to chickpea farming to steadily shrink. The situation has deteriorated to the point that roughly 40 years ago, Bharatpur cultivated chickpeas on about 85,000 hectares of land, but today that acreage has plummeted to a mere 4 to 5 thousand hectares.
Crisis looms over local pulse mills
This major transformation in the agricultural sector has not remained confined to the fields alone; the local pulse industry is also bearing the heavy brunt of this shift. In the past, Bharatpur housed around 30 active pulse mills dedicated to processing chickpeas and other pulses. These mills cleaned, processed, and packaged the crops brought in by local farmers. However, due to the sharp decline in chickpea production, securing an adequate supply of raw material has become extremely difficult for these mill owners. Consequently, only 2 to 3 pulse mills are currently struggling to operate on the verge of closure in the district.
Factors behind the drop in cultivation
According to agricultural experts, several primary reasons account for this steep drop in chickpea acreage. Prominent among these factors are rising farming costs, deteriorating water quality, and the profit margins realized by farmers from their produce. The problem of saline water in many parts of Bharatpur has also posed a significant challenge to agriculture. Furthermore, cultivators shifted toward alternative crops that required less time, involved lower risk, and offered relatively better financial returns.
Mustered overtakes chickpea farming
Experts explain that mustard cultivation proved significantly more profitable for farmers compared to chickpeas. Driven by higher market demand and better prices in Bharatpur and surrounding areas, farmers adopted mustard farming on a large scale in place of chickpeas. This transition directly impacted chickpea acreage, completely altering the farming equation over the past four decades. Fields that were once vibrant with chickpea yields are now dominated by the yellow blooms of mustard crops, while the dwindling chickpea output has stripped the local pulse industry of its golden era.
