In-situ machines should be optimally utilised: Agri Dept

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 18

With paddy harvesting season picking up in the district, the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department has appealed to all 189 cooperative societies to ensure optimum utilisation of in-situ machines so that maximum farmers can manage the stubble and not burn it.

The Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department has written to the Cooperative Department to direct all societies to provide machines to the farmers of their areas so that they remain motivated for stubble management.

Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Surinder Singh said the district had 189 cooperative societies which have stubble management machines. He said underutilisation of machines must not take place at any cost. He also said all these societies have been given machines at 80 per cent subsidy by the government.

He said the secretaries of cooperative societies are being asked to deliver the machines to each farmer by following a roster register. He said each society should write on display boards about the available machines and a special demand register should be maintained.

He said reports of the underutilization of machines are being received which would not be tolerated.

Giving examples of best-performing societies, he said the Chamiara Cooperative Society had been ensuring stubble management on 150-acre of the area for the past two years He said the society had a mulcher, rotavator, chopper shredder, RMB plough and tractor machines and regularly monitors the working of machines by maintaining the rotation register.

He said the rent collected from the machines was being used for the wear and tear of the machines.

Cooperative Society Sarai Khas has a mulcher, RMB plough and manages 125-acre stubble of small and marginal farmers of the village for the past few years, he said.

Similarly, Dr Singh said with the collective efforts of Randhawa Masanda Cooperative Society, the whole village was not burning their stubble for the past two years.