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Enhanced MSP for paddy may hit other crops

Chandigarh: The Union Government’s decision to give an additional Rs 50 per quintal as bonus on paddy might bring cheers on the faces of paddy growers in Punjab but will reduce the area under other crops, experts say.

“The announcement of additional amount of bonus on paddy is definitely going to hit the cultivation of other crops such as sugarcane, maize, cotton, vegetables etc as farmers would like to stick to paddy growing for fetching assured and good returns,” Punjab State Farmers Commission marketing economist,” R.S. Rangi said here on Friday.

The bonus announcement will also hit the much-touted crop diversification programme of the Punjab Government, launched two years ago to curtail the depletion in ground water level.

The announcement of Rs 1,000 wheat MSP has already made a dent on the cultivation of sugarcane in the State. It is expected that the area under sugarcane would now restrict to 1.50 lakh hectares, against targeted area of 1.70 lakh hectares.

As part of efforts of crop diversification programme, the area under paddy cultivation fell with farmers switching over to maize, sugarcane and cotton. The area under paddy declined to 25.75 lakh hectares in 2007-08 from 26.47 lakh hectares in 2004-05.

“The paddy cultivation may now increase further with the amount of MSP declared by the government,” another economist said.

The increased cultivation of paddy would also hit the much-touted crop diversification programme of Punjab which was aimed to save the depleting ground level water.

According to a study conducted by Punjab State Farmers Commission on ‘Fall in Water Table’, the average fall in water table per year has been one inch in central Punjab. The prime reason behind this fall has been the early transplantation of paddy, it stated.

According to an expert of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), the way the ground water is being over drawn by farmers especially for rice plantation, it is predicted that the water level in central districts comprising Moga, Sangrur, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kapurthala would come down to an alarming stage between 70 and 160 feet by year 2023.

Presently, the water table in 95 per cent of the central Punjab has dipped to over 30 feet, said an expert. -- PTI

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