Punjab govt intiates steps to replace foodgrain seeds

Chandigarh, June 11 (UNI) The Punjab Government today announced to laucnh a drive for a hundred per cent replacement of food grain seeds to check the decline in production, particularly of wheat.

This announcement was made by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here today while unveiling " a path breaking growth initiative in the farm sector, with a three fold offensive against stagnation".

Under the seed replacement programme, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) would first prepare the foundation seed and then after successful tests, PAU would prepare the certified seed for distribution amongst farmers.

" Seed replacement of certain food grains, particularly wheat had become necessary as studies had shown that one of the main reason for fall in productivity was seed quality which had declined over the years", he said while addressing a media conference here today.

Besides seed replacement, the second intiative to be undertaken by the government is checking the declining water table. Under this the government has decided that every acre in the state would be laser leveled in the coming years, resulting in a saving of at least 50 per cent of irrigation water, in addition to a cut in energy usage in the farm operations.

The third intiative would be diversification, under which the government would launch of a "citrus campaign" as a part of the National Horticulture Mission. Value addition infrastructure including agro units would be put in place to ensure stable market for fruit.

The Chief Minister announced that under the "citrus campaign", the government would establish five citrus centers in the state.

These centers would provide an impetus to citrus cultivation particularly of kinoows.

"We are also working towards a market driven shift towards vegetables and other cash crops," Mr Badal said.

He said that his government had slashed BT cotton seed prices by more than half to boost production and encourage a shift to cotton from other crops.

"To lessen the burden caused by calamities, we have enhanced compensation from Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 per acre," he said while pointing out that this was his first major decisions taken immediately after he assumed power in March this year to begin his fourth term as Chief Minister.

Mr Badal also announced formulation of a comprehensive agricultural policy to be forwarded to the central government for seeking financial assistance for the farming sector. This policy to be prepared with the help of agri experts from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) would be first compiled at the block levels, then at the district levels and then a state policy would be prepared after incorporating the block and district level reports.

UNI