
Progressive farmers honour Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal in Kharkan village of Hoshiarpur on Friday. tribune photo
Hoshiarpur, May 12
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal has said the state government is set to implement a new agriculture policy on June 30, aimed at taking its agriculture to new heights. The policy has been developed with the help of progressive farmers, scholars and agricultural scientists, and is expected to benefit farmers for at least the next 25 years. He was speaking at the second sarkar-kisan milni event held at Shergill Farm in Kharkan village of Hoshiarpur.
The minister said the objectives of the meeting were to gather suggestions from farmers on how to move away from traditional crop cycles and to formulate a new agricultural policy based on suggestions. He emphasised the need to make agriculture profitable in order to solve the challenges facing Punjab. He said the new policy would take into account the demand for the smooth use of rivers and canal water, and seek to make the distribution of water, electricity and seeds more transparent. He added that the government was also formulating a policy to encourage agricultural diversification through marketing and processing, and is considering forming separate boards for different crops.
The minister said to promote horticulture in the state, the cultivation of different fruits would be encouraged in different areas, and the use of pesticides in agriculture would be eliminated. The minimum price of other crops would also be fixed
Revenue Minister Bram Shankar Jimpa said the new agriculture policy being prepared by the government would give a new direction to agriculture in the state.