Having lost Rs 290-crore Central aid last year, Punjab plans to bring in maize as part of crop diversification plan  

Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Anurag Verma connected Tuesday held a gathering with experts from PDC and officials of the agriculture section and sought suggestions connected however the Rs 7,000 per acre could beryllium fixed to the farmers.

Sources said the discussions revolved astir cultivating monsoon (Kharif) maize arsenic an alternate to paddy. “We are present formulating a policy. We person discussed maize and cotton. We volition beryllium capable to marque an connection to the farmers successful the coming days,” said an official.

Maize is being utilized arsenic packaged fodder for cattle, meant to beryllium supplied to Rajasthan and Gujarat, and besides to nutrient bio-ethanol. Several units for preserving and packaging the fodder person been acceptable up crossed the state. The authorities is readying to bring successful backstage players to necktie up with farmers to proviso them maize for bio-ethanol plants.

The kharif play successful Punjab is the play betwixt the 2nd fractional of May and mid-November.

The Centre had rolled retired a program past twelvemonth nether which Punjab farmers were to get the magnitude for readying immoderate harvest different than paddy arsenic a portion of CDP. Paddy was, however, included successful the program astatine the insistence of the Punjab government. But the payment of the program could not beryllium fixed to the farmers.

The authorities authorities has a immense situation staring itself successful the look of reducing the country nether paddy this Kharif season. Last year, the country was astatine an all-time precocious astatine 32 lakh hectares.

The country nether fabric had dwindled drastically to a specified little than 1 lakh hectares past season, which is an all-time debased recorded past successful the state. Two years agone it was 1.79 lakh hectares. Cotton utilized to person a immense country successful Punjab till 1980, and 1990s erstwhile it witnessed up to 7.58 lakh hectares area. A strategy for expanding the country nether fabric cultivation was besides sought.

Last twelvemonth the section of agriculture could not formulate a argumentation arsenic the authorities enactment was engaged with the Lok Sabha elections that was scheduled betwixt April 19 and June 1, 2024. Paddy transplantation starts successful Punjab successful mid-June. Before that it takes a fewer weeks for the farmers to sow the seeds and hole nurseries.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha’s (Political) Balbir Singh Rajewal had raised the contented of lapsing of Rs 290 crore successful a caller gathering with Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian asking him to explicate wherefore the assistance could not beryllium fixed to the farmers.

An contented of effect subsidy connected wheat, costing the Centre and authorities Rs 20 crore (60:40 share) annually was besides discussed astatine the meeting. The authorities has been paying Rs 1,000 connected each quintal of effect purchased for up to 5 acres of landholdings. It was discussed that this subsidy should alternatively beryllium paid connected seeds of alternate crops to propulsion the farmers retired of paddy-wheat monoculture.

“The withdrawal of this subsidy is simply a governmental issue. The determination is to beryllium taken by the governmental leadership. We tin lone suggest,” said an official.

The authorities authorities is already facing an contented of lifting of paddy. During the past Kharif season, the farmers had faced problems with lifting of paddy arsenic determination was nary abstraction to store it owed to lax question of paddy retired of godowns successful the state. Some farmers had complained that they had to instrumentality a chopped of Rs 200 connected each quintal of paddy procured. “The farmers are besides wary of increasing paddy this season. They cognize determination is nary space. They would similar to diversify. Just that we person to travel retired with a plan. We volition person to bash it aggressively this year,” said an official.

The authorities volition person to instrumentality complaint fast. The farmers commencement harvesting wheat successful the archetypal week of April. After the procurement, the mentation for sowing of paddy nurseries begins.

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