Over 37,000 Ambala farmers register for stubble management incentives

Over 37,000 farmers in Ambala district have registered for incentives under the in situ and ex situ stubble management schemes this year, covering nearly 2.20 lakh acres of paddy farmland. The initiative, aimed at discouraging the burning of crop residue, has seen a strong response from farmers even as unseasonal rains on Monday disrupted harvesting and procurement operations.

According to data from the Agriculture Department, a total of 37,061 farmers have registered for the Rs 1,200 per acre incentive under the government’s stubble management scheme. Around 2.46 lakh acres of land are registered under paddy cultivation in Ambala on the Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal. Nearly 45 per cent of the crop has been harvested so far.

Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA) Ambala, Dr Jasvinder Saini, said, “The registration for stubble management has been received on over 2.20 lakh acres. The portal has been closed. Though no case of farm fire has been reported so far, all efforts are being made to ensure that there is no incident this year. As many as nine cases were reported till the same corresponding period last year, and a total of 99 cases were recorded.”

He said, “The department provides assistance of Rs 1,200 per acre to farmers for the in situ and ex situ management of paddy. Awareness camps are organised in all villages. Besides these, 639 nodal officers are in the field to keep a watch on stubble burning. Farmers are being advised not to burn straw and to take advantage of the government schemes. Apart from air pollution, burning of paddy stubble also damages soil health.”

Meanwhile, untimely rains on Monday drenched paddy stocks lying in grain markets and affected the standing crop in the fields. The downpour has also delayed harvesting by a couple of days.

As per official data, 1.95 lakh MT of paddy has arrived at 15 grain markets and purchase centres in Ambala, of which 1.53 lakh MT has been procured and 63,418 MT lifted till Sunday evening.

Farmer Jasbir Singh from Hamidpur village said, “The rains accompanied by winds have flattened the paddy crop. It will not only affect the grain quality but also increase the harvesting cost. We have to get the water drained out at the earliest.”

Dr Saini said, “The rain is not good for the paddy crop at this stage as it will increase disease risk and cause lodging. Harvesting will be delayed for a couple of days.”

Neeraj Bhardwaj, secretary of the Ambala Cantonment grain market, said the paddy stocks were covered with trampolines during the rain, preventing losses. “As the weather improved later in the day, procurement resumed,” he added.