The move aims at promoting crop diversification by maximising profit of cotton cultivators
Back to work after months of electioneering for 2014 lok Sabha polls in the State, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday cleared the proposal of ‘Cotton Mechanisation Program’ for the State’s cotton belt.
The move, aimed at promoting crop diversification in the State by maximising profit of cotton cultivators, would embark on the ambitious program by introducing pneumatic planters, cotton picking machines and high-yielding varieties of seed besides setting up a ‘Centre of excellence of cotton’ at Bathinda.
The project primarily aimed at maximising profit of cotton cultivators, reducing input cost by overcoming problem of expensive labour and reducing process of cotton cultivation to pave way for high yield of wheat crop.
Under the ambitious program, ludhiana’s Punjab Agriculture University and the State Agriculture department in tandem with renowned agro companies like John Deer, Bayer India and others would conduct adaptive trails on 1500 acres of land in villages near Malout by practicing high density cotton cultivation, in which seven packets of cotton seeds were sown instead of existing two over one acre of land, stated the government’s official Press release.
It added that the service providers of M/s John Deer would sow cotton crop with pneumatic planters to be supplied by the company whereas M/s Bayer India would import growth regulator and defoliant chemical, to be supplied free of cost to the farmers for ensuring one-time picking of cotton yield.
In order to encourage the farmers for adopting high density cotton cultivation, the State Government would provide a subsidy of `4,000 per acre to the farmers under the program.
Besides, John Deer would also provide six cotton picking machines so as to ensure smooth picking of cotton in the fields.
likewise, the State Government would also set up a cotton cleaner at Malout Grain Market at a cost of `1 crore besides signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Monsanto for establishing a Centre of Excellence of Cotton at Bathinda, which would help in developing new varieties of Cotton and focus on inventing new techniques of cotton cultivation.
To ensure better agronomic practices to benefit farmers, Bayer India would fund PAU’s research project spread over 20 acres of land, which would emphasis on the development of new cotton seeds best suited for the state.
Already, the State Government had conducted trial of this program along with these private firms last year in which trials of cotton picking and cleaning were conducted over 50 acres of land in villages near Abohar.
The trial had produced desirable results as the yield of cotton had witnessed an increase ranging from 30 to 70 per cent besides eliminating major problem of cotton cultivator regarding shortage of labour.
likewise, after plucking the cotton the farms were ready for sowing wheat crop in the month of November, which resulted in enhanced yield of the food grain. Overwhelmed by the success of this trial the farmers were now ready to replicate this model over an enlarged area.