Diversification push

EFFORTS to promote crop diversification instead of the traditional wheat-paddy cycle have been a part of Punjab government policy since long, with results that have failed to enthuse. The inability to protect natural resources, especially water and soil, has stood out. A spate of announcements in recent days by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his appeal to farmers to adopt alternative crops as a collective duty to save the depleting groundwater have brought a glimmer of hope. To encourage less water-consuming options, maize, bajra, sunflower and moong crops are to be brought under the minimum support price (MSP) regime. Currently, MSP is given for only wheat and paddy, while the other crops are bought by private traders. To promote direct seeding of rice (DSR) — under which the seeds are sown directly rather than transplanting seedlings, thus saving water — an assistance of Rs 1,500 per acre will be given. The intent to find a way out of the two-crop monoculture, once Punjab’s success mantra but now a burden, is apparent.

More than 85 per cent of the gross cropped area in the state is under paddy and wheat, and its reduction is the key to future planning. The challenge before the cash-strapped AAP government would be to offer comparative returns for any alternative crop; just listing environmental gains and emotional pleading would not suffice. For farmers attuned to reasonably high-yielding crops, any other option has to match up, and that could require the introduction of newer varieties and practices in conjunction with agricultural research — all concerted, long-term, adequately funded schemes.

Expecting Punjab to do it alone is unrealistic. Leaving differences aside, the Centre needs to actively engage with the state, now that it is taking keen interest in diversification. Food and nutrition security is a national project. What’s at stake is too big to be squandered by politics and the credit game.