Crop diversification: Most politicians yet to practice what they preach

JALANDHAR: When successive governments in Punjab have been emphasizing

crop diversification

owing to depletion of underground water table, inquiries from senior politicians have revealed that they themselves or those who have taken their land on contract are also going for paddy transplantation. However,

Nakodar

SAD MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala has said that his family would be stopping paddy cultivation from this season.


Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, who also holds agriculture department, and his predecessor Parkash Singh Badal have been stating that the state needs to diversify. However, a former minister and some sitting and former MLAs have revealed that barring six all are going ahead with paddy cultivation this year also and their common argument is that there is no marketing infrastructure for alternate crops. While one is giving a try to direct seeding on a chunk of his land, others are going ahead with traditional method of creating puddles in fields.

Former Punjab agriculture minister Tota Singh, who hails from Moga, revealed that on a major chunk of his family’s land paddy would be cultivated. “We have given part of our land on contract and partly we cultivate it. There is no marketing infrastructure for other crops or produces and paddy cultivation has become a compulsion as we know it will be definitely procured,” he said.

Shahkot MLA Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia also confirmed that his family was mainly into potato farming and for the last four years they had been suffering losses in potatoes due to rock bottom prices. “We are growing mazie as well as paddy. We stopped burning stubble four years back but growing paddy is a compulsion as there is no marketing infrastructure for alternate crops,” he maintained. Sultanpur

Lodhi

MLA Navtej Singh also spoke on the same lines, stating that he would be getting paddy transplanted. “On around 10 acres we are also trying direct seeding of paddy this time,” he added.

Former Garhshankar SAD MLA Surinder Singh Bhullewal Rathan said that he had given his land on contract but the tenant was preferring to grow paddy on it.

Nawanshahr

MLA Angad Singh Saini said that his family had given land on contract but there was largely paddy on it this season. “Where is the marketing infrastructure for other crops?” he added. Bholath MLA and PEP president

Sukhpal Singh Khaira

said that he had also leased out his land and in this season paddy was being cultivated. He also rued lack of marketing infrastructure for other crops.

SAD MLA Wadala decides to stop paddy cultivation on his land

Nakodar MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala said that his family reduced area under paddy. “Around 15 acres were under paddy till last year as we required paddy stubble for covering potatoes. But this year I have told my brother to stop it all together to save water,” he said. He also urged the state government to ensure marketing infrastructure for other crops with support from Centre and also to fix MSP of Rs 1,700 for maize. However, Sultanpur Lodhi MLA Navtej Singh Cheema argued that maize was also a water guzzling crop like paddy.