Paddy MSP hike hits govt’s crop diversification plan

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 17

The state government’s ambitious crop diversification plan has been hit this year, thanks to the hike in the MSP of paddy by Rs 170 per quintal.

The area under cotton has shrunk by around 95,000 hectares as compared to 2017. Most of this area is now under paddy cultivation. A minimal increase is expected in the area under sugarcane and maize, while the Horticulture Department is trying to use vacant panchayat lands to plant horticulture crops and raise the area under fruits and vegetables by 15,000 acres.

There has been a sharp focus by the Congress government on crop diversification ever since it took over last year. Five year targets were made for diverting the area under water-guzzling paddy to cotton, sugarcane, maize, oilseeds and fruits and vegetables. However, with the Centre announcing a hike in the paddy MSP, farmers have gone in for “reverse” diversification (where cotton growing area has been diverted to paddy).

Jasbir Singh, Director, Agriculture, says area under sugarcane has gone up from 95,000 hectares last year to 1 lakh hectares this year. ‘We had a target to increase the area under maize by 10,000 acres – from 1.14 lakh hectares to 1.25 lakh, although the area under maize is 1.23 lakh hectares,” he says. Even in terms of horticulture crops, the state government has drawn an ambitious plan to increase the area under fruits and vegetables from 4.6 per cent of the total cultivable area last year to 5.5 per cent of the total cultivable area this year.

PS Aulakh, Director, Horticulture, told The Tribune that to meet the target of increasing this area under horticulture, they were going to use the village common lands for sowing fruits and vegetables. “This will help us increase the area under horticulture to 40,000 acres,” he said.

Information gathered by The Tribune, however, reveals that sufficient water was not released in the irrigation channels of the state during the cotton and vegetable sowing season in the south Malwa region. Also, with the number of tubewell connections released last year, mostly in the south Malwa region’s cotton growing areas, farmers have diverted from cotton to paddy crop. Besides, sugar prices in the market have fallen since last year. Sugarcane growers have not been paid their dues by private as well as cooperative sugar mills. This too has contributed to less than expected diversion towards sugarcane this year.

The reason for this is simple — there is still no market support for the alternative crops that can lead to diversification. Dr MS Sidhu, an eminent agro economist, says for diversification to be successful, the government needs to give market support to crops other than paddy and wheat, which is not there.

Balbir Singh Rajewal, president, BKU, rues that though Punjab could do well in growing pulses and oilseeds, the government has not tied up with NAFED to buy oilseeds and pulses. Haryana has been successful in tying up with NAFED, and thus they have diversified their cropping pattern, he adds.

• Rs 170 per quintal Hike in paddy MSP announced by the Central government 
• 95K hectares Reduction in area under cotton as compared to 2017