Chandigarh: Experts have suggested replacing free electricity for agriculture with direct cash incentives to farmers on a per-hectare basis to curb excessive groundwater extraction in Punjab.
The recommendations were made during a high-level discussion organised by the Chandigarh Citizens Foundation on promoting diversification for sustainable and high-income agriculture in Punjab and Haryana.
Participants, including policymakers, academicians and agricultural experts, stressed the need to move towards contract farming and balance crop cycles with market-oriented crops to address the ongoing agrarian crisis.
They highlighted that existing measures for crop diversification have not yielded adequate results and called for a shift away from water-intensive wheat-paddy cycles.
NITI Aayog member Dr Ramesh Chand said farmers should be encouraged to diversify towards crops such as mustard, cotton and maize, along with horticulture, to improve profitability.
Experts also recommended introducing a crop insurance policy in Punjab to mitigate risks from climate change and natural disasters, which have increasingly impacted agricultural output.
They suggested that shifting even 10% of paddy cultivation to alternative crops over the next decade could help achieve an annual agricultural growth rate of 3.4%.
The discussion also emphasised the need to develop dedicated zones for fruits and vegetables and to establish a price stabilisation fund in Punjab on the lines of Haryana.
