By Amrit Pal Singh Sidhu
Bathinda, May 13:
The state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Punjab Bhagwant Singh Mann has selected the district under a pilot project to cultivate kharif maize instead of paddy under crop diversification.
Under this, farmers who cultivate maize instead of paddy will be given financial assistance of Rs 7,000 per acre along with technical information.
This information was shared by Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmed Parrey
Giving further formation in this regard, Chief Agriculture Officer Dr. Jagdish Singh said that as per the guidelines of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, training was given to the farmers to make maize cultivation successful.
In the district, most of the area has been shifted from cotton cultivation to paddy cultivation, but due to poor quality of ground water, the yield is also low and the land is also affected adversely.
As there are 4 ethanol plants operating in the district, a large amount of maize is consumed, which is imported from outside states.
Apart from this, maize is also used in animal feed and poultry feed. Under the Punjab government's plan, large-scale efforts are being made to cultivate 2500 hectares of kharif maize in Bathinda district during this Kharif season.
Under this series, scientists from Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana trained the officers/employees of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Bathinda and farmer friends on important points related to maize cultivation, which will further coordinate with the farmers to encourage the sowing of maize.
Sowing of maize can be done from the last week of May to the end of June, any farmer who is interested in sowing maize can coordinate with the block/district office of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, District Bathinda.
The Chief Agriculture Officer appealed to the farmers to participate as much as possible in the camps being organized at the village level and can contact the block/district office as per the requirement.