To promote crop diversification in the State, the Punjab Government on Wednesday approved setting up an expert panel to rationalise prevalent subsidies in the agriculture sector to benefit farmers in the State.
The decision was taken by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in a high level meeting held under his chairmanship to review the performance of agriculture and animal husbandry departments. Showing concern over the “less allocation” of funds by the Center to improve rural areas and lives of farmers, Badal underlined the need to streamline subsidies to enable the beneficiaries to reap maximum benefits and strengthen the crop diversification programme.
He said that the expert panel to be headed by Punjab State Farmer's Commission’s chairman GS Kalkat would examine the existing subsidies given to farmers for mechanisation of agriculture and supplying pesticides to genuinely benefit the farmers. He asked the Committee to submit its report within a fortnight to enable the State Government to disburse subsidies in a rationalised manner.
Badal said that it was the need of the hour to give fillip to the crop diversification program in the State by enhancing the area under alternative crops like maize, cotton, sugarcane, soya bean, pulses and others.
In another decision, the Chief Minister also asked the Agriculture department to work out the modalities for giving subsidised seeds, certified pesticides and agro-chemicals to the cotton growers. In a bid to curtail huge expenditure meted out by farmers on agriculture implements, the Chief Minister also approved to enhance the existing limit of purchasing farm equipments by the Primary Agriculture Centers (PACs) run by Cooperative Societies from existing Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.
Approval was also given for increasing subsidy on the purchase of such implements by PACs, for giving it to the farmers on custom hiring basis, from prevalent 33 to 50 per cent with a maximum cap of Rs six lakh. Badal also asked the Cooperative department to initiate a project of setting up two such centers for the landless farmers in every district across the state on pilot basis.
Chief Minister also asked the Animal Husbandry Department to formulate a time-bound action plan for providing quality breed of cows and buffaloes to the farmers to boost dairying in the State. For providing the facility of artificial insemination along with free veterinary service to the farmers at their doorsteps, Badal also gave a go-ahead for implementing Integrated Buffalo Development Corporation (IBDC) Program across the state by setting up 800 more centers across the State.