Agri Push For Pulses & Oilseeds; Potato Farmers Left in Lurch

At a workshop in Punjab Agriculture University in Ludhiana, the Director of Agriculture Panjab Gurjit Singh Brar has emphasized the need to promote oilseeds and pulses cultivation in the state. He said, ‘Promote oilseeds and pulses among farmers in order to reduce reliance on foreign nations for oil supply and pulses.’ He added that smaller nations like Indonesia and Malaysia respective to India are supplying oil worth USD 49M and USD 4,800M, adding that pulses worth USD 2,430M were being imported, with the highest share from Myanmar. He called upon the researchers to develop suitable oilseeds and pulses varieties, advising that it was ‘high time we be self-reliant in this sector’. He also pushed for cotton cultivation, precision agriculture, automation technologies and Artificial Intelligence-powered traps for insect and pest management. Meanwhile, agriculture experts have advised farmers to remain alert and take timely measures to protect their wheat and mustard crops from possible disease attacks as changing weather conditions tend to create an environment for fungal and viral diseases in standing crops. Farmers have also been encouraged to avoid excessive irrigation during cloudy weather, as high moisture levels accelerate disease development. Additionally, the Agriculture Department has expressed concern over the rising heat in Tarn Taran district. The officials observed that temperature in the district has reached 28–30℃, which is not suitable for the growth of wheat crop and could lead to weak wheat production. Farmers said that the crop grew in the last week of February, but this time, the size of the grain was smaller.  Meanwhile, farmers' union Jamhoori Kisan Sabha Panjab has appealed to the government to help potato farmers suffering from recession this season. While the cost of potato production has increased, the farmers are not getting the proper rate of the crop. Due to this, the union said the burden of debt will increase on the farmers. Private companies had given seeds to the farmers at expensive prices and made them grow potatoes but are now reneging on their promise. They have asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian to take strict legal action against the companies for betraying the trust of farmers (earlier coverage).