Having lost Rs 290-crore Central aid last year, Punjab plans to bring in maize as part of crop diversification plan  

Sources said the discussions revolved around cultivating monsoon (Kharif) maize as an alternative to paddy. “We are now formulating a policy. We have discussed maize and cotton. We will be able to make an offer to the farmers in the coming days,” said an official.

Maize is being used as packaged fodder for cattle, meant to be supplied to Rajasthan and Gujarat, and also to produce bio-ethanol. Several units for preserving and packaging the fodder have been set up across the state. The government is planning to bring in private players to tie up with farmers to supply them maize for bio-ethanol plants.

The kharif season in Punjab is the period between the second half of May and mid-November.

The Centre had rolled out a plan last year under which Punjab farmers were to get the amount for planning any crop other than paddy as a part of CDP. Paddy was, however, included in the plan at the insistence of the Punjab government. But the benefit of the plan could not be given to the farmers.

The state government has a huge challenge staring itself in the face of reducing the area under paddy this Kharif season. Last year, the area was at an all-time high at 32 lakh hectares.

The area under cotton had dwindled drastically to a mere less than one lakh hectares last season, which is an all-time low recorded history in the state. Two years ago it was 1.79 lakh hectares. Cotton used to have a huge area in Punjab till 1980, and 1990s when it witnessed up to 7.58 lakh hectares area. A strategy for increasing the area under cotton cultivation was also sought.

Last year the department of agriculture could not formulate a policy as the state leadership was busy with the Lok Sabha elections that was scheduled between April 19 and June 1, 2024. Paddy transplantation starts in Punjab in mid-June. Before that it takes a few weeks for the farmers to sow the seeds and prepare nurseries.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha’s (Political) Balbir Singh Rajewal had raised the issue of lapsing of Rs 290 crore in a recent meeting with Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian asking him to explain why the grant could not be given to the farmers.

An issue of seed subsidy on wheat, costing the Centre and state Rs 20 crore (60:40 share) annually was also discussed at the meeting. The government has been paying Rs 1,000 on every quintal of seed purchased for up to 5 acres of landholdings. It was discussed that this subsidy should rather be paid on seeds of alternative crops to pull the farmers out of paddy-wheat monoculture.

“The withdrawal of this subsidy is a political issue. The decision is to be taken by the political leadership. We can only suggest,” said an official.

The state government is already facing an issue of lifting of paddy. During the last Kharif season, the farmers had faced problems with lifting of paddy as there was no space to store it due to lax movement of paddy out of godowns in the state. Some farmers had complained that they had to take a cut of Rs 200 on every quintal of paddy procured. “The farmers are also wary of growing paddy this season. They know there is no space. They would like to diversify. Just that we have to come out with a plan. We will have to do it aggressively this year,” said an official.

The government will have to take charge fast. The farmers start harvesting wheat in the first week of April. After the procurement, the preparation for sowing of paddy nurseries begins.