In a bid to encourage crop diversification, Punjab Government is considering setting up of State Costs and Price Commission for crops like soyabean and pulses and offering state MSP on these crops.
CM Parkash Singh Badal has asked the state agriculture department to consider setting up of a State Costs and Price Commission on the lines of Centre's Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) to work out cultivation cost of crops like soyabean, pulses, maize.
Badal also called upon the Chairman of Punjab State Farmer’s Commission Dr GS Kalkat to work out the modalities for optimum utilization of the Solar energy in various Agricultural operations with a twin objective of benefitting the farmers by ensuring uninterrupted supply of quality power on one hand and saving abundant electricity on the other. Unveiling the draft state Agriculture Policy, Badal also asked them to see the possibility of offering MSP to farmers for these crops. He also asked officers to conduct a thorough study of cropping pattern in the state so that area wise thrust could be given to alternatives of wheat and paddy for enhancing farmers' income.
The Punjab government has been stressing on crop diversification in the state to reduce area under traditional crops like paddy in a bid to raise farmers' income and prevent ground water table declining and solid degradation. The state has planned to reduce area under paddy from 28 lakh hectares to 16 lakh hectares in next six years and shift this area to maize, cotton, vegetables, pulses, fruits etc.
Dwelling on the need for making agriculture more viable venture by increasing the profitability of the farmers, the Chief Minister said that in the current scenario efforts should be made on war footing to promote agriculture diversification.
Reiterating the commitment of the state government to bail out the beleaguered peasantry of the state from ongoing agricultural crisis, he said that for this thrust should be laid on the development of dairy, fisheries, poultry, goatry, piggery and other allied agriculture activities to benefit the farmers by enhancing their income.
Mr Badal said that in order to formulate a comprehensive action plan for the development of these agriculture allied activities the active participation of the farmers at the grass root level was necessary.