Chickpea: Synopsis of a Value Chain Study

Chickpea cultivation, which has huge potential in India, is as yet underutilized and undervalued. Planned interventions will go a long way in motivating the small landowners to cultivate chickpea, both as a viable crop and for its nutritive value.

C hickpea is one of the most commonly used pulse crops in India. In fact, a cursory look at the statistics tells us that India produces two-thirds of the world’s total chickpea production and yet it imports a third of the gross imports, underlining how important a crop it is for us. For the last eight months, since September 2009, I was part of Pradan’s thematic team for a value chain study on chickpea. The study demanded that I interact with various stakeholders, such as traders, agents, retailers, apart from the farmers.

Although chickpea is also called Bengal gram, it is not grown in Bengal. For me, who didn’t even know how to differentiate between kabuli chana and desi chana, this was quite a revelation. Kabuli chana is the irrigated variety of chickpea whereas desi chana is the more resistant and indigenous variety. I did not even know that such a distinction existed! In any case, I motivated myself by saying that it is always best to start right at the bottom, as far as awareness about chickpea is concerned, because that would mean that the only way to go was up!

My visits took me to many places—Mandla (MP), Chitrakoot (UP), Vidisha (MP), Chhattisgarh, Pakur (Jharkhand), Betul (MP) and Bikaner (Rajasthan), to name a few. These visits were an eye-opener for me because after having spent four to five years working in the rural hinterlands with tribals, the nitty-gritties of chickpea cultivation and sale took me by complete surprise. I was also surprised by the unutilized potential of this crop to address poverty and malnutrition.