Despite sops, DSR method fails to get good response from farmers

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 19

Two years ago, the government had announced an incentive of Rs 1,500 per acre to encourage farmers to adopt the Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) method. Despite that, the technique seems to have failed in the state.

Target too far to achieve

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• The target to cultivate paddy under DSR technique was 25,000 acre this year. But it was just 1,700 acre
• Last year, the area under the technique was 1,093 acres

Last year, the target for land under the DSR method in the state was 5 lakh acre while the area under the technique was just 1.7 lakh acre.

Despite the government’s efforts to promote the technique as a sustainable way to prevent groundwater depletion and cut labour costs, most farmers remain hesitant to adopt this method, citing problems with unwanted plants, lower yields and the need for constant vigilance.

This time, the area in Jalandhar under the DSR increased slightly to 1700 acre which was 1,093 acres last year. Strangely, the target to cultivate paddy under DSR technique was 25,000 acres this year. The actual cultivation was far from the target.

Ranjit Singh, a farmer from Boolpur village in Kapurthala, said he had adopted the practice for three years until 2022. “But I experienced that with DSR, the yield was less compared to the traditional method,” he said.

According to Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) experts, using DSR technology, 15-20 per cent of water could be saved. Also, the appropriate time to adopt the method is until June 15. The Director of Extension Education, PAU, Dr Makhan Singh Bhullar, said 80 per cent of the land was suitable for it. “Also, talking about the weeds, the farmers must identify the type of weed, whether it is a grass, board leaf, or cyperus rotundus, then use herbicides accordingly. The PAU has the herbicides,” he added.