Farmers avoid crop rotation

The agrarian crisis in Punjab is deepening, with farmers avoiding crop diversification. Lack of research and development ( R& D) in increasing the productivity of other crops and lack of minimum support price ( MSP) for all crops are forcing farmers in Punjab to fall for the paddy- wheat cycle, despite the alarmingly falling water table in the state.

On the surface, things look normal as farmers get maximum yield per hectare and maximum price per hectare in the paddy- wheat crop pattern.

This forces them to switch over to the trusted cycle rather than go in for other crops. A recent example is the failure of BT cotton in southern Punjab ( Malwa) last season, which is traditionally a cotton belt, and shifting completely to paddy this season. “There is no MSP for cotton, but in the case of paddy, there is MSP, it is a good incentive for farmers and there is very little risk in it, unlike other crops,” says Professor Sher Singh, an agricultural expert.

The MSP for paddy and reasonable returns compared to other crops looks encouraging, but a cursory look at the water table of various districts of the state is a cause for concern. “Punjab is virtually sitting on a time bomb: the water table has gone down from 6 to 18 m in 11 districts of the state in the last 30 years. In about two decades, the aquifers of Punjab will dry or deplete, making agriculture unviable, if the present trend of paddy cultivation continues,” says Professor Ranjit Singh Ghuman of the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development ( CRRID).