Punjab targets 12 lakh hectares of paddy area with DSR technique

A sum of Rs 450 crore has been earmarked to provide incentive to farmers for promotion of less water-consuming and cost-effective DSR technology.With reports suggesting that rats were damaging direct sown paddy in some areas, the chief minister directed the agriculture department to provide rat-control pesticides to farmers free of cost. Director agriculture department Gurvinder Singh said DSR technique helps in saving nearly about 15-20 per cent water as compared to the conventional puddling method.

Punjab's agriculture department has set a target to bring 12 lakh hectares of paddy area under the direct seeding of rice (DSR) technique, which will be almost double the area covered last year.

According to an official spokesperson, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the portfolio of agriculture, directed the department to make concerted efforts to bring around 12 lakh hectares under this technique.

The DSR needs far less water for irrigation, improves percolation, reduces dependence on farm labor, and improves soil health, thus enhancing the yield of both paddy and wheat by 5-10 percent.

Under the DSR technique, paddy seeds are drilled into the field with the help of a machine that does seeding of rice and spray of herbicide simultaneously. While in the traditional method, young paddy plants are raised by farmers in nurseries first and then these plants are uprooted and transplanted in a puddled field.

To encourage farmers to sow paddy through the DSR, the state government already decided on a Rs 1,500 per acre incentive for farmers for the sowing of paddy through this technique. A sum of Rs 450 crore has been earmarked to provide incentives to farmers for the promotion of less water-consuming and cost-effective DSR technology.

With reports suggesting that rats were damaging direct-sown paddy in some areas, the chief minister directed the agriculture department to provide rat-control pesticides to farmers free of cost. Director of the agriculture department Gurvinder Singh said the DSR technique helps in saving nearly about 15-20 percent of water as compared to the conventional puddling method.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)