Ambala: Agriculture Department aims to cover 1 lakh acres under moong

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, March 6

In order to promote pulses, the Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Department has set a target to cover 1 lakh acres under summer moong in 2024-25 in Haryana.

The department will also provide 10,000 quintals of summer moong seeds for cultivation to districts for distribution to the farmers on 75 per cent subsidy.

As per the targets given, Kurukshetra, Bhiwani, Palwal and Sirsa districts have been given the maximum targets of 8,000 acres each, followed by Fatehabad, Jind and Rewari with 7,000 acres each. The remaining districts have been given targets between 1,000 to 6,000 acres.

Seeds to be provided at subsidised rate

• Department will provide 10,000 quintals of summer moong seeds
• Kurukshetra, Bhiwani, Palwal and Sirsa districts get maximum targets of 8,000 acres each
• Fatehabad, Jind and Rewari given targets of 7,000 acres each
• Farmers’ share of 25 per cent of the cost will be collected by HSDC at their sale counters, at the time of delivery of seeds.
• Rest of the 75 per cent will be claimed by the HSDC by producing bills after verification by DDAs
• One farmer can collect seeds up to 30 kg for 3 acres

As per the department, the farmers will register themselves on its website from March 10 to April 15. The seeds will be provided to them at subsidised rates. The farmers’ share of 25 per cent of the cost will be collected by Haryana Seeds Development Corporation (HSDC) at their sale counters, at the time of delivery of seeds. Rest of the 75 per cent will be claimed by the HSDC by producing bills after verification by the DDAs (Deputy Director of Agriculture). One farmer can collect seeds up to 30 kg (for 3 acres). In case the farmers don’t grow the moong after collecting seeds, they will be liable to deposit 75 per cent of the cost of the seeds to the department.

While the department officials believe that the pulses will improve soil health and provide additional income, the farmers said that procurement on remunerative prices has been an issue for the farmers.

BKU (Charuni) spokesperson Rakesh Bains said, “The farmers are also worried about the soil health and they want to adopt crop diversification but the absence of assured procurement on MSP has been keeping the farmers away from other crops. After production, the government imposes capping and starts covering crops under the Bhavantar scheme. Instead of selling the seed at subsidised prices, the government should directly transfer the subsidy into the accounts of the registered farmers. The government should assure the farmers that the entire produce will be procured by the government so that there is no financial loss.”

Ambala DDA Jasvinder Saini said, “The department has given targets to each district to promote pulses under the state’s crop diversification plan. At present, around 2,500 acres is covered under moong in Ambala district, but majority of the produce is used for their own consumption and sold at their own level among neighbours and acquaintances.”