Promote ‘Monsoon Maize’ to Replace Paddy: Rana Gurjeet
Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh of Jalandhar urged Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to promote Rabi maize as an alternative to water-intensive paddy, citing its successful cultivation by farmer Avtar Singh yielding 38-40 quintals per acre. Singh proposed setting up 5,000 acres for demonstrative plots and compensatory allowances for farmers experimenting with monsoon maize. He suggested forming a committee with experts to expand alternative crop cultivation and conserve groundwater.
Jalandhar: Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh has urged chief minister Bhagwant Mann to promote Rabi maize, also called monsoon maize, in Punjab amid depleting water table due to water guzzling paddy. He also suggested developing alternative crops. In a letter to the CM, Rana Gurjeet Singh stated: “Rabi maize is a tried and tested key alternative to the water guzzler paddy as not only the climatic conditions of the state are ideal for its cultivation, but due to improvement in varieties and inputs over the years, the yield has considerably increased.” “Not only the economics of growing monsoon maize are comparable to that of paddy, but the quantum of water saved is beyond any comparison,” he wrote while citing the example of farmer Avtar Singh of Dadiana village in Fatehgarh Sahib.
The legislator said Avtar Singh had been cultivating monsoon maize for the last three years and getting a steady harvest of 38-40 quintals per acre, which sells at around Rs 2,000 per quintal, thus getting remuneration comparable to that of paddy crop.
Rana suggested that the agriculture department, Punjab Agricultural University and other allied departments/institutes should set up some demonstrative plots of ‘monsoon maize’ in an area of approximately 5,000 acres. “A compensatory allowance can also be set up for farmers accruing losses during these experiments. Even this compensatory allowance for these demonstration plots, if all is required to be paid shall be nothing given the benefits accrued from savings of water and electricity required for its pumping,” he argued.
While offering his services, Rana also urged the CM to form a committee of MLAs and MPs, assisted by subject matter specialists to work on a roadmap for increasing areas under such type of alternative crops and for ways and means to develop strategies for conserving groundwater.
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