Patiala News:Paddy harvesting of 2.08 lakh hectares area completed in Patiala district
Proper management of stubble in 1.85 lakh hectares: Chief Agriculture Officer
Agriculture Department teams are going from village to village to make farmers aware, certified wheat seeds are being provided at subsidized rates
As per the guidelines of Deputy Commissioner Patiala Dr. Himanshu Agarwal, a special campaign is being run at the village level by the teams of the Agriculture Department to prevent incidents of stubble burning in the district and to ensure proper management of crop residues. Under this, the officers and employees of the department are reaching the fields of the farmers and motivating them to manage stubble.
In this regard, Chief Agriculture Officer Dr. Dara Singh, while visiting the fields of farmers Harman Singh and Gurdas Singh at village Dakala, said that the total cultivable area in Patiala district is about 2,50,000 hectares, out of which paddy has been sown in 2,31,400 hectares and out of which basmati is cultivated. He said that till now paddy has been harvested in about 2,08,000 hectares in the district and out of this, wheat has also been sown in about 40,000 to 50,000 hectares.
Dr. Dara Singh said that till now, the farmers have managed the stubble in about 85,000 hectares of land through ex-situ technology. Apart from this, the stubble has been properly managed in about 1,00,000 hectares of land by using machines like super seeder, reversible plough, mulcher etc. provided by the Agriculture Department. Thus, till now, the stubble has been managed in a total area of about 1,85,000 hectares in the district.
The Chief Agriculture Officer said that farmers are also being made aware about the environmental and land damage caused by burning stubble. He said that burning stubble not only pollutes the environment, but also damages the fertility of the land and destroys the beneficial elements and friendly insects present in the soil. Therefore, farmers should manage stubble in the fields using modern agricultural machinery.
He further informed that teams of all the Block Agriculture Officers, Agriculture Development Officers, Agriculture Extension Officers, Agriculture Sub-Inspectors and Atma staff of the district are continuously visiting the fields and contacting the farmers and appealing them not to set fire to the stubble.
He said that certified seeds are also being provided to farmers for sowing wheat during the Rabi season on subsidy, so that farmers can get quality seeds and so that they can sow wheat on time.
The Chief Agriculture Officer appealed to the farmers of the district to manage stubble properly using modern agricultural techniques and machinery instead of burning it and contribute to the conservation of the environment.