CHANDIGARH — The Punjab Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Saturday urged Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to break the impasse and revive the dialogue between the Centre and the agitating farmer unions at the earliest.
Union Minister Chouhan was holding virtual discussions on reforms in the agriculture sector with the Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers of various states and union territories.
Minister Khudian appealed to Union Minister Chouhan that fasting Jagjeet Singh Dallewal’s fast-unto-death has taken a critical turn.
“For 40 days, the latter (Dallewal) has been sacrificing his health and well-being, and the Centre must take immediate action to address the grievances and save his life.”
The Punjab Minister reiterated that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led state government “supports the farmers’ legitimate demands and is enthusiastic for working together with the Union government to achieve a goal of prosperous agriculture”.
Raising another issue of great concern, he sought Rs 15,000 per acre for the farmers as gap funding for providing returns over the variable cost of alternative crops to wean away them from the water-guzzling paddy crop.
Minister Khudian emphasised that since the fast depleting underground water and climate change in the region are major causes of concern and there is an emergent need to shift the maximum area from paddy to other alternative crops viz. maize, cotton, kharif pulses and oilseed crops, etc., under crop diversification scheme so that farmers can get profit equal to paddy.
He also suggested that the Centre should come forward to hold the arm of the state’s farmers by offering financial assistance of Rs 2,500 per acre — Rs 2,000 per acre by the Union government and Rs 500 by the state government — to the farmers for managing paddy straw scientifically.
Minister Khudian also sought to go ahead with the cultivation of BG-3 hybrid seeds, which are pink bollworm and whitefly resistant, in the state as more than a few years, pest attacks have created havoc among the farmers.
The subsidy should also be given under centrally sponsored schemes on improved cotton hybrid seeds to revive cotton production in the state. –IANS
