New Delhi, Dec. 3 -- New Delhi: The Centre is working on an ambitious plan to grow pulses on two million hectares of fertile land across the country, two people aware of the matter said, as falling production and rising imports drive up food prices.

Farmers will be encouraged to grow tur (arhar), urad, and masur varieties that are imported in large quantities from countries such as Mozambique, Myanmar, Canada, and Australia, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity. The scheme involves the ministries of consumer affairs and agriculture, and the department of land resources.

The two million hectares where pulses will be cultivated is part of a total of four million hectares of watershed land identified for farming. A wat...