Central team to study scope of crop diversification

By Punjabnewswire4u

NEW DELHI, APRIL 14

          Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today sought a special package to bail out state’s distressed peasantry from the vicious circle of stagnated agrarian economy for the want of proper infra structure and marketing mechanism.  

          The Chief Minister called on the Union Agriculture Minister Mr Sharad Pawar in his office here at Krishi Bhawan this morning urging him to help the state in propagating its much needed crop diversification plan as the traditional agriculture was no more a profitable occupation due to the squeezed margins of profit owing to non-remunerative MSP coupled with the hike in agricultural inputs.  Mr Badal impressed upon the Union Agriculture Minister to immediately sanction Rs 5000 crore for diversification program in the state to shift the majority of cultivable area from paddy to cash rich crops like Maize, Oilseeds, Fruits, vegetables and others. He pointed out this could only happen with adequate technical and financial support from centre adding Mr Badal said that Rs 500 crore sanctioned by the Centre for pursuing crop diversification program in Punjab and Haryana was ‘too little and inadequate’.

The Chief Minister said that centre should considerably hike this amount to Rs 5000 crore on the pattern of “Bringing Green Revolution in the Eastern States Program”. He bemoaned the pathetic condition of the Punjab farmers who were already at the crossroads and felt ditched by the Government of India (GoI) for its adverse policies. Mr Badal however informed the Union Agriculture Minister that the state government had already drafted a Agriculture policy aimed at pushing the agenda of crop diversification, which was the hallmark of farmer’s prosperity in general and boosting the state’s economy in particular.

Pleading the case of Agriculture Diversification, the Chief Minister said that centre should come forward for incentivizing the Basmati cultivation which was not only a profitable preposition but also less water intensive as compared to the Paddy. He said Basmati from Punjab had a viable export market across the globe which could further be stepped up with continuous support from the centre. Mr Badal also called upon the Union Agriculture Minister to earmark sufficient funds to the Punjab Agriculture University Ludhiana, a premier Agriculture institute of the region, to undertake extensive research in the field of crop diversification.    

Responding to the various issues raised by the Chief Minister, Mr Pawar assured him that the Union government was already seized of the state’s concern for crop diversification. The Union Agriculture Minister said that he would soon send a central team of experts on Agriculture diversification to explore the possibility to help the state to switch over its sizeable cultivable area under paddy to other alternate crops besides promoting Dairy Farming, Horticulture, Floriculture, Fishery, Goatary, Piggery and Bee Keeping in a big way.    

The Chief Minister was accompanied by his Advisor on National Affairs and Media Mr Harcharan Bains, Financial Commissioner Development Mr Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Mr SK Sandhu and Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr KJS Cheema.