Despite incentive, DSR technique fails to catch up with paddy farmers
Amritsar, June 11
Despite the state government’s decision to provide a financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per acre to the farmers adopting the direct seeding of rice (DSR) technique for paddy cultivation, it has failed to catch the fancy of farmers in the district.
With an estimated 1.80 lakh hectares of land on which paddy is cultivated every year, only around 5,000 hectares has come under the DSR technique. The area under the DSR technique this season remains the nearly same as it was last year.
After the Chief Minister had made the announcement regarding the financial aid, the enthusiastic district Agriculture Department had claimed to bring 65,000 hectares under the DSR technique.
However, farmers in the district have not shown much interest in the technique, though the government announced financial aid. The paddy sown with the DSR technique requires less water and helps in water conservation.
Agriculture scientists claim that the paddy sown with the DSR technique gives same yield as with manual transplanting. Farmers stated that only those who had experience regarding the DSR technique have used the technique this year. “Surely more farmers are joining the new group of progressive farmers but their number is very small,” said Joginder Singh, a farmer.
Another farmer stated that though the labour charges for manual transplanting range between Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000 per acre, the farmers who are not well-versed in the technique are still hesitant.
Unlike manual transplanting and mechanical transplanting, the DSR is a technique which requires less labour and is also pocket friendly. While for the transplanting techniques, the fields need to be well puddled, the DSR technique can be applied in dry fields.
