INAUGURATES 'KISAN MELA' AT CHAPPAR CHHIRRI; FARMERS FELICITATED FOR NOT BURNING PADDY STRAW AND MIXING IT WITH THE SOIL
SAS Nagar, September 23, 2019: Exhorting the farmers to contribute in making Punjab pollution free by shunning the stubble burning and utilizing the hi-tech implants to decompose the stubble in the soil to increase its fertility, the District Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department today organized a Kisan Mela on Rabi Crops at Chappar Chhirri on Monday under Atma Scheme.
Inaugurating the Kisan Mela, Punjab Health and Family Welfare and Labour Minister Mr. Balbir Singh Sidhu called the farmers to come forward and join the hands with the state government in wiping out stubble burning menace from Punjab. He said that the government is already providing hi-tech machinery through co-operative societies which can be procured on the rent to decompose the straw in the fields which would not only increase the fertility but would also save the environment from harmful gases being produced through burning the straws. He also threw light on the various schemes being run by the government for the farmers and asked them to avail the benefits.
Mr. Sidhu also exhorted farming community to adopt direct marketing to make themselves economically self reliant. He said that although due to the hard work of the farmers, there has been substantial increase in crop yields, but in spite of that farmers are not earning at par with their hard work. Thus, in that scenario self-marketing is a need of the hour, he added. He said that farmers should have to shun the conventional cycle of wheat-paddy crop by adopting crop diversification.
Lauding the efforts of the Agriculture and other Departments to promote crop diversification and providing up-to-date information regarding new agri techniques, Mr. Sidhu said that farmers will have to adopt subsidiary occupation of agriculture such as dairy farming, poultry, piggery and bee keeping etc. He also appealed to farmers to use pesticides and chemical fertilizers according to the recommendations of the Agriculture Department, PAU and Agricultural Scientists. Referring to the 'Mission Tandarust Punjab', the Health Minister said that if the adulteration in milk products was stopped completely, the farmers would get full price of milk and other dairy items. The Punjab government is keen to stop the adulteration and now the onus is on consumers and the farmers to be more conscious about adulteration. He also made special mention of 'Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana' launched by the state government to provide free treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh to the people.
On this occasion 10 farmers were honoured, who shunned the practice of straw burning. Meanwhile, various departments, progressive farmers and companies have also set up stalls to inform farmers about new schemes and techniques. Among other dignitaries who were present on the occasion included Mr. Harkesh Chand Sharma Political Secretary to Health Minister, Mr. Rajesh Vashisht Joint Director Agriculture Department, Mr. D.K. Saldi DDPO, Dr. Prabh Maninder Kaur Deputy Project Director Atma Scheme and Mr. Harpal Singh Chief Agriculture Officer.