Haryana Government has urged the farmers to adopt a different way of cultivating rice altogether, which is direct seeding of rice. The farmers will be provided a grant of Rs 3,000 per acre to organise ‘demonstration fields’ under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) and National Food Security Mission (NFSM) for this purpose during the year 2015-16. This grant would jointly be given by State and Centre, said a spokesman of Haryana Agriculture Department on Monday.
He said that under RKVY, grant would be provided to farmers for ‘demonstration fields’ to sow rice by the method of direct-seeded rice (DSR) on 30,000 acres of land in district Yamunanagar, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Sonipat, Panipat, Jind, Sirsa, Fatehabad and Palwal. Similarly, financial aid would be given for ‘demonstration fields’ over 2,000 acres of land in Ambala, Jhajjar and Rohtak districts under NFSM.
Explaining the DSR method, he said that in traditional rice cultivation, rice is sprouted in a nursery and sprouted seedlings are then transplanted into standing water. With direct seeding, rice seed is sown and sprouted directly into the field, eliminating the laborious process of planting seedlings by hand and greatly reducing the crop’s water requirements. Moreover, it is more labor-efficient than conventional rice planting. The sowing of DSR would not only save water but would also minimise the input cost. It would also cut down the electricity expenses of the farmers’ upto 30 per cent, said the spokesperson. He said that all the concerned farmers are requested to register themselves under these schemes for sowing of DSR on website www.agriharyana.in for taking financial grant under these schemes.