Encourage farmers for crop diversification: Dhankar

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 19

In a first and a unique initiative of its kind, senior officers of all government departments associated with agriculture on Monday held a brainstorming meeting on upcoming kharif crop to discuss inputs, output, procurement and various challenges associated with the crop.

The meeting named “Kharif-2018” organised on the initiative of Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar was aimed at visualising the size of upcoming crop, inputs required and the status of their availability, availability of water, power, seeds and pesticides, procurement of crop and challenges in the way, including climatic conditions.

“The purpose of the meeting is that we are not found wanting for providing inputs to the farmers and also problems, if any come, can be addressed,” Dhankar told mediapersons after the meeting.

Based on inputs received from officials, Dhankar said that nearly 90 lakh MT of paddy was likely to be produced on 14.72 lakh hectares this kharif season out of which 60 lakh MT would be parmal variety while 30 lakh MT would be basmati varieties.

Similarly, 23 lakh bales of cotton is expected to be produced on 5.69 lakh hectare of land, 7 lakh MT bajra on 5 lakh hectares of land and 50,000 MT of jwar is expected on 50,000 hectares, besides pulses etc.

“We have enough stock of urea and DAP fertilisers. The availability of seeds is double the need. Though good monsoon is expected, we have discussed alternatives if rains are not enough,” said Dhankar.

Earlier, addressing officials, Dhankar urged them to encourage farmers to adopt crop diversification to enhance their income than to sticking to wheat-paddy crop cycle, in view of changing climatic scenario.

Dhankar said that besides agriculture and horticulture, dairying should also be adopted as business. He asked the officers to work as a team and make policy decisions to encourage farmers towards technical and organic farming and marketing and take steps in view of crop cycle in the next 10 years.

He directed the officers to make most of the geographical location of the state and its vicinity to National Capital Region in terms of marketing, keeping in view of 340 horticulture villages being developed under peri agriculture concept and work for bringing the schemes of dairy sector at grassroots level

Among those who participated were Cooperation Minister Manish Grover; Chairman, Hafed, Harvinder Kalyan; Additional Chief Secretary, Cooperation, Navraj Sandhu; Additional Chief Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Ram Niwas; Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Dr Abhilaksh Likhi; Chief Administrator, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, Mandip Singh Brar; Chairman, Haryana Kisan Ayog, Ramesh Kumar Yadav and others.