Punjab News: Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Urges Farmers To Embrace Crop Diversification & Water-Saving Techniques

Chandigarh: Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday exhorted the farmers of Punjab to adopt diversification and various water saving methods which, he held, are the need of the hour and the same yield profit as well as consume less water.

In Punjab on a day’s visit under the Centre’s ``viksit krishi sankalp abhiyan’’, Chouhan, who was accompanied by the state agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, Punjab Agricultural University vice-chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal and scientists from Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), held various meetings with farmers in Patiala district stating that the solution to farmers’ issues is possible through discussions.

He referred to Centre’s decision of suspending the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan post April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the Union minister held that efforts would be made to use the waters of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers for Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Chouhan lauded the farmers of Punjab, Chouhan said he bowed to the land of Punjab as the country has registered an all-time record production in wheat, paddy, maize and soybean this for which the state has the biggest role. On the issue of purchase of alternate crops below the minimum support price (MSP), Chouhan held that the Union government would look into the issue.

He also said the government will frame new laws with provision for stringent action against any company that makes fake pesticides.

Khudian also informed the Union minister about the acute shortage of the DAP fertilizer and said that while the state’s requirement is around 90,000 metric tonnes, only about 38,000 to 39,000 MT has been received to date.

The state agriculture minister also held that while Rs 17,000 per hectare compensation was promised for the crop diversification, farmers have so far got only Rs 10,000.