BSc students to aid of Punjab cotton growers

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, June 16 

To assist cotton growers in tackling whitefly this season, the Punjab Agriculture Department has roped in BSc (Agriculture) final-year students of various universities in the cotton belt of the state.

These undergraduates will visit fields for the next four months and guide farmers on the use of pesticides. Further, they will conduct a survey which will prove helpful for their academics as well.

This is the first time that students have been roped in for this purpose. They will be paid Rs 12,000 and some allowances per month. 

In the past, the department used to hire scouts, who were trained farmers, from villages and pay them Rs 4,500 per month.

“Our department has taken an initiative to take the help of these students, who have more expertise than scouts. Thirty-nine students are coming to our district. Each  will look after four villages and report to us if there is attack of any pest. They will stay here till September,” said Baljinder Singh Brar, Chief Agriculture Officer, Muktsar.

He added, “As of now, the whitefly is negligible and present only on some vegetables. The cotton crop is safe.

There is no need to use any pesticide. These students will ensure minimum use of pesticide and decrease the expenses of farmers.”

The Chief Agriculture Officer said these students, who have come from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and some other universities, would be provided a one-day training on Monday. Some experts said the department had taken this step as the area under cotton crop has shrunk this year and officials did not want to take any risk.