Punjab conferred Krishi Karman Award

Ravi S.Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 17

Punjab has been conferred the Centre's Krishi Karman Award 2015-16 for best performance in raising country's foodgrain production. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave away the award which was received by state's Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa.

The award, comprising a cash prize of Rs 2 crore, memento and a citation, is given every year to the best performing state for raising country's food production which includes foodgrains and individual crops of rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals.

Speaking on the sidelines of the function, Bajwa congratulated farmers of the state. He batted for a remunerative Minimum Support Price (MSP) for agriculture produce and urged the Centre to implement its promise of implementing recommendations of Swaminathan Commission in this regard.

Presently, farming is not a profitable on account of MSP being computed on an outdated formula.

Farming in Punjab is different from the entire country due to it being capital intensive which increases cost input. Under the present system, it is ignored account by the Commission for Costs and Prices while fixing MSP.

Punjab has become the worst victim of environmental degradation to the extent that even soil has turned toxic in the process of feeding the nation. The state was on the verge of turning barren in view of the drastically falling water table, he added.

He made out a case for liberal financial assistance to the state by the Centre to switch over to drip and sprinkle irrigation system to conserve water and rejuvenate the century year old canal system.