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Punjab: Give crop diversification a big push, says Mann at climate conclave
Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria says it is wrong to blame only farmers for the air pollution. He underscores the need for ensuring crop residue management machinery to farmers in sufficient numbers in order to curb stubble burning incidents.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday gave a clarion call to agriculture scientists and experts to become a guiding light for farmers to enable them to give a major push to crop diversification in the state. The CM, in his address at the international conference on ‘Transforming Agrifood Systems in the Face of Climate Changes and Energy Transitions’ at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here, emphasised the urgency of addressing climate change’s impact on agriculture, especially in the wake of Punjab’s vulnerability due to its intensive rice and wheat production.
Mann said crop diversification is much needed to accelerate resilience, higher yields and nutrient-rich soil. “Failure to act will have severe consequences for future generations. Growing one kilogram of rice requires 3,000 litres of water. This unsustainable practice threatens the very foundation and existence of Punjab, a state named after five rivers,” the CM said.
While recalling the pivotal role played by the state in ushering in the Green Revolution in the country, he noted that agricultural production has reached a stage of plateau. He said that accelerating agricultural diversification through high-value crops such as fruits and vegetables is imperative as this has the potential to raise farm incomes, ensure sustainability and provide livelihood security to farmers while also checking climate change.
Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria, who presided over the conference after Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s aircraft could not land at Halwara airbase due to smog, said it was wrong to blame only farmers for the air pollution. He underscored the need for ensuring crop residue management (CRM) machinery to farmers in sufficient numbers in order to curb stubble burning incidents. “The farmer won’t give up paddy unless he is given a crop that yields more profit (than paddy). They put in so much hard work, they need profit. Farmers have no choice. They have to sow wheat in time,” he said.
He added that earlier paddy was sown in May and June, but now it was pushed down to July and August. “This doesn’t leave the farmer with much time between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing. They get a window on 10-15 days (to clear their fields for wheat sowing),” he said, adding that the state government and centre have tried to make residue management machines available but it is still far from the number of machines required to deal with the issue.
Guv calls for addressing Buddha Nullah issue
The governor said he receives a lot of representations regarding the pollution in the Buddha Nullah. “This water goes to Harike Pattan and than to Rajasthan,” he said while referring to a train that runs between Bathinda and Bikaner, which has earned the tag of ‘cancer train’ as it ferries mostly cancer patients and their families to Acharya Tulsi Regional Cancer Treatment and Research Centre (RCC) in Bikaner.
The governor called on the government and industrialists to work together to ensure proper treatment of the wastewater from the factories before it reaches the nullah.
