Paddy farmers opting for direct seeding yet to receive subsidy

Tribune News Service

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, September 29

Harvesting of paddy is round the corner but farmers who opted for direct seeding of rice (DSR) technique are yet to receive the subsidy. Seeing the declining groundwater level, Punjab government had announced an incentive of Rs 1,500 per acre to the farmers who opt for DSR technique as it helps in saving water as compared to the traditional water-intensive method.

In Ludhiana, 1,888 acres of land were under DSR technique and farmers have not yet received the subsidy.

1,888 acres of land under DSR technique

In Ludhiana, 1,888 acres of land were under DSR technique and farmers have not yet received the subsidy

Apart from saving water, DSR offers advantages like timely establishment of rice crop, early crop maturity, low production costs and is less cumbersome.

An aggrieved farmer from Samrala said that they had a difficult season this year due to floods and they have not yet received the subsidy for adopting DSR. “The amount the government is giving is less and in addition to this, it is not disbursed on time. The assessment has been done but we are still waiting for the amount to be transferred into our accounts,” he said.

Another farmer further regretted that it has already been three months since the paddy was sown. “Harvesting will start from October 1 but we have failed to receive the subsidy amount. On the one hand, the subsidy amount given is less and on the other, it has been delayed too much. The amount should be given as soon as possible as the farmers had a really difficult season this time due to floods,” he said.

Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Narinder Singh said that they have made the assessment and submitted the report to the department. “A total of 1888 acres was under DSR technique in Ludhiana district. We are hopeful that the subsidy will be released soon in the coming days and it will be directly transferred into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries,” he said.

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