Haryana Agriculture Department targets 1 lakh acre to reduce paddy cultivation

Tribune News Service

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, June 2

In order to promote crop diversification and reduce the area under water-guzzling paddy crop, the Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare will target 1 lakh acre land in the kharif season 2022 under the “Mera Pani, Meri Virasat” scheme. To achieve the mark, the department has also set district and crop specific targets.

Eligibility criteria

• Farmers who cultivated paddy last year and want to opt for alternative crops
• Those who adopted alternative crops last year and will continue with them on same field
• Farmers who will keep their last year’s paddy fields fallow during the season

The department is aiming to sow maize in 15,000 acre, cotton in 51,500 acre, pulses in 2,500 acre, oilseeds in 1,000 acre, fodder/fallow in 15,000 acre, and vegetables in 15,000 acre across the state.

The largest share of the target land will be in Sirsa district (13,775 acre), followed by Jind (11,655 acre) Fatehabad (10,796 acre), Kaithal (7,338 acre), and Hisar (7,088 acre) districts.

Last year, the department had planned to cover 2 lakh acre but registrations of around 98,000 acre land was received. After verification, the department could achieve crop diversification only on 53,000 acre. Learning the experiences of the previous year, the department had decided to set realistic mark this year.

Each crop has been allotted a specific target for each district, according to the different agro-climatic conditions. However, the district will also get additional budget if it exceeds the given target.

Like previous years, the farmers will be given an incentive of Rs 7,000 per acre if they opt for crop diversification. Unlike last year when the incentive was given in two instalments, this year the incentive will be given in one installment after physical verification by a committee, consisting the department official, patwari, numberdar and the farmer concerned.

The benefits of the scheme will be extended to farmers who had cultivated paddy last year and want to opt for alternative crops, and those who had adopted crop diversification last year and will continue with alternate crops on the same field. The farmers who will keep their last year’s kharif paddy fields fallow during the season are also eligible for the incentive.

Director General of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, Hardeep Singh, said: “Farmers have to get themselves registered, following which the department will get the details of the crop sown last year. Verification by village-level committee will be done. Once, the process is completed the farmer will be compensated for adopting alternative crop/s.”

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