SNE NETWORK.CHANDIGARH.
The Centre has given a big gift to Punjab farmers through self-sufficiency in pulses in the budget. In the 1960s, different pulses were grown on 9.17 lakh hectares of land in Punjab during Rabi and Kharif seasons. A total of 7.26 lakh tonnes of pulses were produced on 9.17 lakh hectares of land.
Due to lack of promotion of pulses production, it has come down to 23 thousand hectares of land today. Through self-sufficiency in pulses, Punjab can meet its consumption requirement of 6 lakh tonnes. In the Union Budget, important steps have been taken to bring self-sufficiency in the production of pulses, especially keeping in mind the farmers of Punjab. Even the central government has offered to give minimum support price (MSP) on lentil, urad, tur i.e. tur, maize and cotton on the condition of contract in February 2024 in the interest of the farmers of Punjab who are demanding legal guarantee of MSP.
In such a situation, the Center has also made a new announcement to meet the demand of crop diversification along with MSP on crops in the interest of the farmers of Punjab. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made a provision of Rs 1 thousand crore in the budget for self-sufficiency in pulses, with this the government aims to end imports by 2029.
Still more production of pulses in the state than the national average
If we talk about the figures, even now the production of pulses in Punjab is more than the national average, but it is not able to meet the total consumption of the state.
If we talk about the production of pulses in the Kharif season, the production of tur, urad, moong which was 99 thousand hectares four decades ago, has now shrunk to 9 to 10 thousand hectares. Similarly, the production of pulses in the Rabi season has come down from 8.81 lakh hectares to 8 to 10 thousand hectares.
Highest production of paddy and wheat in the state
Highest production of paddy and wheat is being done in the state. Rice cultivation is the main reason for the rapid decline in the ground water level of the state. This is the reason that this time the Punjab government had demanded a special package from the Center for crop diversification. The Center did not give a special package, but has announced a new scheme with a focus on Punjab to promote the production of pulses. This time the target of producing 185 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was set in the state. Rice is grown on 3.2 million hectares of land and wheat on 3.5 million hectares of land in the state. Efforts are also being made by the state government to turn farmers towards cotton cultivation. Let us tell you that the Agriculture Minister of the state is demanding gap funding to the farmers in the form of Rs 15 thousand per acre from the Union Agriculture Minister for crop diversification.