As Punjab awaits the arrival of monsoon for the ongoing paddy transplantation,the state aims to bring down the area under the water-guzzling crop this kharif season. Despite poor rainfall last year,area under paddy in the state shot up to its highest ever of 28.02 lakh hectares bringing the efforts of the State Agriculture department at diversification to a standstill. As part of our diversification policy to arrest the falling groundwater table level,we try to bring down the area under paddy every year. However,last year it went up from 27 lakh hectares to 28.02 lakh hectares. Our target for this kharif is to bring the cultivation area down by 1 lakh hectares to the earlier level of 27 lakh hectares. To achieve this,we have set higher targets for cotton,maize and pulses. Though the final picture will emerge only by the second week of July,area under paddy is not likely to be as high this year, Punjab Agriculture Director B S Sidhu said. Neighbouring Haryana,where area under paddy touched 12.05 lakh hectares last year,has kept this years target at 11.5 lakh hectares. As of now,paddy transplantation is lagging behind last years corresponding figure,but it will pick up if rains are good in July. Irrespective of our target,paddy area in the state has not come down. It was 11.5 lakh hectares last year but crossed 12 lakh hectares despite less rains, said Haryanas additional director,agriculture,B S Duggal. Though both the states had kept a higher target for cotton this year,high temperatures in May and June have hit the sowing process. Yet,Punjab expects to achieve more than the target of 5.30 lakh hectares for cotton this year. The actual area under cotton in the state last year was 5.11 lakh hectares. Haryana,however,which had kept a higher target of six lakh hectares may fall short of it. Though area under cotton in Haryana may go up from last years 5.07 lakh hectares to 5.25 lakh hectares,we may not be able to achieve the target of 6 lakh hectares as high temperatures forced many farmers to resow the crop, adds Duggal. Area under maize,which is sown in July after the onset of rains,too is likely to increase in Punjab against last years 1.40 lakh hectares. In view of good minimum support price (MSP) for pulses,Punjab has also scaled up its target area from 15,000 hectares to 25,000 hectares. But in Haryana,since maize is sown on 15,000 to 16,000 hectares of rainfed areas in Panchkula and neighbouring districts,the state expects farmers to diversify towards bajra and guar.
