Punjab to register, tag Basmati growers in the state

Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, June 29

The central and Punjab governments have jointly launched a new project to register the state’s six lakh Basmati growers, an official said. 

The project, undertaken to help bring down pesticides in the crop to help boost exports, will give each Basmati grower in the state a unique ID. The project, undertaken jointly by Punjab government, the Punjab Rice Millers’ Export Association and the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)—a federal authority that comes under the central government—will help identify crops that have pesticides beyond permissible limits.

The development comes on the back of a rise in India’s Basmati exports being rejected, often because of the residue of pesticides found in the produce. Punjab accounts for some 50-60 per cent of the country’s Basmati exports.  The internationally accepted limit for pesticides is 0.01 mg per kilogramme.

Also part of the initiative is an active campaign to discourage farmers from using nine specific types of pesticides—Acephate, Triazophos, Thiamethoxam 25 percent WG, Cerbendazim 50 percent WP, Buprofezin, Arbofuron, Propiconazole and Thiophanate Methyl.

“The gradual elimination of these poisons will make it sure that Punjab’s Basmati passes all the international import parameters. Since every farmer will be registered on basmati.net portal and will be tagged, it will be easy to keep a tab on the origin of pesticide laden fields particularly, upon the landing of the crop in the market. At the same time, those farmers not using these unwanted pesticides will also be identified,” Sukhdev Singh Sidhu, Joint Director (Plant Protection) and the Nodal Officer for Basmati in Punjab said.

He said Basmati growers could keep the pests at bay by using “green triangle” pesticides that Ludhiana’s Punjab Agriculture University has recommended.

“These pesticides were less harmful for human health and did not exceed residue limits set by the EU and other foreign countries,” he said.

Basmati, which was considered a flagship crop on Punjab’s diversification front, suits farmers because it consumes less water than paddy—a fact that is especially important given the depleting groundwater levels in the state.