Continuing with the concerted efforts to contain the problem of crop residue burning in the State, Punjab Government has launched a scheme on Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for In-situ Management of Crop Residue in the State.
Launching the portal for online application under the Scheme, the state Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the subsidy, at the rate of 50 per cent of the cost of equipment, and at the rate of 80 per cent of the equipment cost would be provided under the Scheme to individual farmers and farmer groups.
The Minister said that the online portal (agrimachinerypb.com) would facilitate farmers’ applying for subsidies without any hassle. It is a comprehensive portal that covers all the aspects, starting from submission of application or selection of machinery or issuing of sanction for the disbursement of subsidy.
Minister said that this would help in further increasing the availability of CRM equipment in the State. Interested farmers could submit their applications on agrimachinerypb.com portal till August 15, 2022, for availing of the subsidy.
“The increased availability of in-situ and ex-situ crop residue management equipment would reduce air pollution and improve soil health, eventually reducing the need for fertilizers and the retention of beneficial microorganisms in the fields,” said the Minister while appealing to the farmers of Punjab to come together and apply for availing benefits under the Scheme so that the ill practice of paddy stubble burning can be put to an end.