Punjab Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal today called upon the President of India to advice the Government of India (GoI) to ensure proper price support mechanism coupled with value addition of Maize as an alternative crop towards its crop persification program in the state. In his address on the Golden jubilee celebrations of the prestigious Punjab Agriculture University, the Chief Minister urged the Mr Mukherjee, who was here to preside over the International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture for Food and Livelihood security organised by Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) as a part of its Golden Jubilee celebrations, to use his good offices to impress upon the Centre to get sanctioned food processing industry in the state for value addition of Maize besides ensuring remunerative MSP to encourage the farmers to go for Maize cultivation in a big way on one hand and bring the beleaguered peasantry out of the rut of conventional agriculture from wheat-paddy cycle. Appreciating the splendid research work done by PAU’s scientists in developing High Yielding Varity (HYV) seeds aimed at achieving buffer stock of food grains thereby making our country self reliant in food production, he requested the President to prevail upon the GoI to sanction liberal financial grant to the PAU, the mother of Green Revolution, to enable it to carry forward its varied research programs relentlessly in the field of Agriculture especially with a focus on the second push towards Green Revolution in the form of persification of agriculture. Highlighting Punjab farmer’s superb contribution to the national glory and food security, the Chief Minister said that they initiated the process of country’s self-dependence in food with Green Revolution in 1960s. He further said that Punjab has been contributing around 38 to 75% of wheat and 25 to 45% of rice to the national food kitty and it has been achieved at a huge price to the farmers of the state. Mr Badal lamented that the farmers of the state had sacrificed their only natural assets land fertility and water in national interest due to which the state is now facing acute agriculture crisis. The Chief Minister further said that agriculture was no longer a remunerative profession due to which the agrarian economy of the state now needs to be bailed out of the crisis of slow growth, declining farm income and dwindling resources. Justifying the rationale behind the need for crop persification Mr Badal pointed that since the Punjab farmers practiced intensive agriculture with Wheat and paddy under nearly 80% of the cropped area, therefore it was the need of hour to shift area under paddy to Maize and other less water consuming crops. These steps would not only stop over exploitation of the water and soil, the only resources of farmers of the state but also improve their economic lot in the near future. Pleading that agricultural exports could boost crop persification, the Chief Minister urged Mr Mukherjee to advice the GoI to facilitate free trade through the Attari Integrated check Post. Mr Badal rued that all the farmers in the state were under heavy debt adding that economic distress in agriculture has led to farmers’ suicides in the state. However he said that it was unfortunate that Punjab did not benefit much from the Central Debt Waiver package announced by the GoI which had led to many small and marginal farmers leaving agriculture thereby reducing the number of farmers in the state from 5 lakh to 3 lakh.
In his address the Punjab Governor Mr Shivraj V Patil emphasised the need of adopting sustainable methods of agriculture so as to meet the immediate, mid term and distant challenges besides meeting the challenge to fulfil the food requirements of the people. He said that it was unfortunate that the universities and national laboratories undertaking the research work in field of agriculture along with the farmers were focusing on meeting the short term challenges but thrust needs to be laid on meeting the challenges of future. Mr Patil said that it was the need of the hour that the water which was depleting very rapidly must be conserved and used in an optimum manner which was not harmful for the future generation in any way.
Lauding the proactive role of PAU in the extensive R&D in the field of the agriculture, the Governor said that it was on the record that the university was the synonym of the ‘Green Revolution’ which ushered in an era of unprecedented development and prosperity in the state. He said that the enormous contribution of PAU in making the country in general and Punjab in particular self reliant in the food production could never be ignored. Strongly pleading the need to intensify research in the field of agriculture, Mr Patil said that the universities and national laboratories should undertake extension services more vigorously to benefit the farmers for adoption of the best farm practices. He sought more funds for universities and research institutes to promote R&D facilities on mass scale in the larger interests of the farmers.
The Governor hoped that the international conference of great importance would play a pivotal role in giving new dimensions to the agriculture by motivating the farmers to embrace the latest farm technologies to increase their yield both qualitatively as well as quantitatively. Mr Patil underlined the need to transfer old knowledge and create new knowledge and impart it to the coming generations.
Prominent amongst other present on occasion included Secretary to the Chief Minister Mr. SK Sandhu, Special Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Mr. KJS Cheema, Chairman Punjab State Farmer’s Commission Dr GS Kalkat and VC PAU Mr. BS Dhillon.