Ludhiana, July 2
Diversification efforts are paying rich dividends in the state as the area under sunflower has trebled this year. The cash crop, which has been discontinued by the farmers in the absence of marketing avenues and resultant losses, has got a new lease of life following its revival through contract farming (CF) by the Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation (PAFC).
The area under sunflower cultivation in Punjab has trebled this year as compared to the previous year. The major discouraging factors were lack of availability of pure hybrid seed, insect/pest problem, especially that of American bollworm, distress sale of sunflower produce much below the MSP. This was due to the lack of a fully operational nodal agency for procurement.
After PAFC initiated a solution to all these problems, it also ensured a tie -up with top MNCs like Monsanto, Advanta and Pioneer for supplying quality hybrid seeds. In-house experts were used to advise farmers about appropriate pesticides spray schedule and by assuring buyback of produce, through a written contract, at predetermined prices with a market-linked bonus.
Mr Kripa Shankar Saroj, MD, PAFC, informed that the corporation had not only been declared as a nodal agency for CF farming by the state government, but also as a nodal agency by NAFED to procure oilseeds and pulses grown under the programme at the MSP declared by the Centre.
He further said that the corporation had also ventured into direct procurement of sunflower from the open market. As a result, sunflower prices had gone upto Rs 1,900 per quintal and above. He assured the farmers that they will intervene as and when the market prices of oilseeds and pulses started sliding below the MSP. He encouraged the state growers to go in for cultivation of high-yielding varieties of pulses and oilseeds without any fear from the market.
Dr S.S. Sahota, consultant with PAFC, advised the growers to go in for three crop rotations, like sunflower-maize-potato, sunflower-maize- early peas, sunflower-fodder crops- basmati and sunflower-spring maize- maize, by which they could not only get Rs 7,000-9000 per acre higher return than paddy-wheat, but could also save on the natural resources, especially the underground water.
Mr N.K. Sharma, senior manager, informed that more than 3,000 acres were brought under the cultivation of sunflower under CF this year alone in district Ludhiana.
The farmers were provided good quality seed of companies like Monsanto, Pioneer and Advanta and the farmers were advised to follow spray schedule from time to time as advised by PAFC experts and the Department of Agriculture officers. The farmers were motivated in the sunflower contracting through the village-level and block-level camps jointly addressed by PAFC experts and the department.
Mr Saudagar Singh, Mr Gulzar Singh and Mr Mukhtiar Singh of Seh village, who cultivated 41 between them under CF and informed that their crop was much better this year and the seed setting was full and the seeds were plump.
Consequently, the growers got good yields ranging from 10 to 12 quintals per acre. Farmers of nearby Naulari village, Gurpal Singh, Bhag Singh, Harpal Singh, Rachhpal Singh and Avtar Singh who had brought 10-20 acres each under sunflower cultivation this time, are a happy lot, because they had pocketed Rs 15,000-20,000 per acre from sunflower cultivation, whereas they had spent only Rs 2,500-3,000 per acre as the cost of sunflower cultivation.
