Don’t grow any crop during paddy season and get ₹7,000 per acre
CHANDIGARH: Determined to push farmers towards switching over to alternative crops in place of water guzzler paddy, Haryana government has linked cultivation of more varieties of pulses and cereals with its financial-incentive driven crop diversification drive.
Kheti Khaali – Fir Bhi Khushali is another and newly added lucrative feature of this “push and pull” policy under which Rs 7,000 per acre incentive will be given to farmers if they do not grow any crop in their fields during the paddy seasons.
Yet another contour of the diversification drive this year is that the government will give Rs 10,000 as incentive to farmers adopting agroforestry for three years. If a farmer opts for agroforestry and plants 400 trees on his land, he will be eligible for Rs 10,000 (instead of Rs 7,000) for three years. The second phase of the crop diversification drive of the Bharatiya Janata Party-jannayak Janta Party coalition government comes ahead of the start of paddy transplantation on about 30 lakh acres from June 15. For the first time, farmers switching over to an alternative crop in place of paddy were paid Rs 7,000 per acre incentive under the ‘Mera Pani, Meri Virasat’ policy launched in May last year. At the heart of this policy is the objective to encourage farmers to choose alternative crops and reduce area under paddy as the cultivation of paddy leads to degradation of natural resources, such as water and soil. The ground water table of Haryana has been declining steadily. “Farmers had cultivated crops other than paddy on 96,000 acres last year. We have included more incentives this year in this scheme to encourage farmers,” said Jai Prakash Dalal, agriculture and farmers welfare minister.
Target to diversify two lakh acres
Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJPJJP government had claimed on the floor of the House in Vidhan Sabha that farmers diverted from paddy to cotton, maize and pulses on 38,000 hectares last year. The government has now set a target to diversify two lakh acre this year. According to agriculture and farmers welfare minister Dalal, the target this year is to also promote cultivation of pulses in Southern Haryana under the diversification drive. As the southern Haryana belt is considered conducive for growing pulses and cereals, the government has included a number of alternative crops such as groundnut, arhar, guar, soyabeen, etc. “We have set the target to diversify two lakh acre land this year as there is a huge potential for pulses cultivation in Southern Haryana. I am meeting the stakeholders personally to make this drive a success,” said Dalal. The state has this year been divided into four zones under the crop diversification drive to make farmers aware about its benefits. In each zone, an additional director rank officer will spearhead the drive. If in north zone, focus will be on maize cultivation, in south zone, pulses will be promoted.the Mera Paani - Meri Virasat scheme will be linked to Meri Fasal - Mera Byora so that farmers get their payment without any delay. Farmers will have to give detailed information of crop being sowed per acre on Meri Fasal-mera Byora and Mera Paani-meri Virasat portal after June 25 when this portal will be opened for public.