Akin to Haryana, Punjab-UP farmers beginning to managing stubble: Chouhan
Chouhan was speaking to media at Indian Institute of Wheat of Barley Reaserch (IIWBR) on his day-long visit to Karnal, where he also appreciated Haryana government crop diversification and giving assured price on 24 crops to the farmers.
Union agriculture, farmers’ welfare and rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday appreciated the farmers in Haryana for managing stubble well and said that now the farmers from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are also moving in the same direction.
Chouhan was speaking to media at Indian Institute of Wheat of Barley Reaserch (IIWBR) on his day-long visit to Karnal, where he also appreciated Haryana government crop diversification and giving assured price on 24 crops to the farmers.
At ICAR-IIWBR, he was joined by director Ratan Tiwari to lay the foundation stone of a seed storage facility and microbiome analysis facility that will help for in-depth genetic study of the roots of a plant.
Later, he also paid a field visit to the campus to inspect the climate resilient wheat variety developed by the central institute and said that despite their early sowing in October, the crop is growing well.
Speaking to media on how the cases of stubble management have reduced in Haryana every paddy season, the minister said, “The state has already taken a revolutionary step to purchase 24 crops on MSP. It has also worked well on crop diversification and stubble management. Farmers of the state have understood how burning crops not only pollutes the air but also kills the friendly insects (mitra keet). Now, farmers from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are also becoming aware and instead of burning the stubble, they are using new technology to re-use the crop residue.”
However, he did not comment if the government will engage in a dialogue with the farmers protesting at Shambhu on Haryana-Punjab border and said, “I meet farmers every Tuesday.”
Earlier in the day, he also visited neighbouring National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI).
Here, he said, “If farmers aim to increase their income, we have to add dairy farming with agriculture. Even if we are engaged in animal husbandry, the lactation of our cattle reduces with time. But the NDRI has developed new breeds of cloned cattle with longer lactation period which is appreciable.”
During a conference at the institute, NDRI director Dheer Singh apprised the minister that the central institute has set a target to increase the milk production from current 230 million tonne (MT) to 600 MT by 2047 as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Viksit Bharat sankalp.
In the day, the minister also visited Sultanpur village of Nilokheri sub-division in Karnal to inspect five-pond system developed by the panchayat to treat wastewater naturally and saw the drone flown by Drone Didi.
He also visited a Saksham Kendra and Common Service Centre of the village and inquired about the average daily income from the employees posted there, thereafter he met Murti Devi, a beneficiary under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana at her house.
Chouhan addressed a group of women from self-help groups (SHG) of the village, where nearly 175 families of the village are attached with nearly 15 SHGs.
“Our government has resolved that no women should remain poor, and they should be financially stable. He said that the schemes launched by the government for the welfare of women have brought about a change in their lives. The target is to make three crore ‘Lakhpati Didis’ in the country, of which 1.15 crore have already been made ‘Lakhpati Didis’. Along with this, efforts are also being made to increase the production of crops, reduce costs and ensure that farmers get a fair price. The government has reduced the minimum export price on Basmati rice,” he said.
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