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Processing plants to come up in Jagraon, Ludhiana, to promote moong, maize crops: Dhaliwal
The processing and drying plants will encourage more farmers to opt for moong and maize and will reduce the area under paddy and wheat cultivation. Addressing farmers at the camp in Ludhiana, Dhaliwal urged them to not engage in stubble burning as it leads to environment pollution and affects soil fertility
Presiding over a district-level farmers’ training camp at Jagraon on Tuesday, agriculture and farmers’ welfare minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal announced that the state government would set up processing and drying plants for moong and maize, respectively, in Jagraon sub-division.
Dhaliwal said the plants would increase the profitability of farmers by adding value to foodgrains.
He directed officials to draft separate proposals in this regard to initiate work at the earliest for the benefit of farmers.
The processing and drying plants will encourage more farmers to opt for moong and maize and will reduce the area under paddy and wheat cultivation. Besides, the cultivation of these crops will also increase the groundwater level in the state.
The minister said the state government had been emphasising to increase the area under the cultivation of moong, maize, cotton and sugarcane crops and added that since rice is not a staple food item of Punjab, farmers should opt for new crops.
Addressing farmers at the camp, the minister urged them to not engage in stubble burning as it leads to environment pollution and affects soil fertility.
MLA Jagraon Sarvjit Kaur Manuke and ACS (agriculture and farmers’ welfare) Sarvjit Singh also addressed the gathering in the camp.
Visits the grain markets to review procurement operations
Later, Dhaliwal, along with MLA and other officials, visited the Jagraon grain market to review procurement operations.
Earlier during the day, Dhaliwal visited the grain market in Khanna and oversaw the procurement process in Khanna and later during the day, he visited dana mandi in Mullanpur Dakha.
He said the government had already issued detailed instructions to the officials of the food and civil supplies department and heads of all the state procurement agencies to ensure timely purchase and payment besides the immediate lifting of grain.
Assuring sufficient availability of gunny bags, he said proper arrangements for lifting and payment had already been made in all the purchase centres where farmers would get the payment of their produce within stipulated time-frame.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included AAP senior leader KNS Kang, deputy commissioner Surabhi Malik and others.
