Punjab sets 5 lakh acres target for DSR technique for paddy

Punjab's Agriculture Minister has set a target of 5 lakh acres under the Direct Seeding of Rice technique for the 2026-27 kharif season with a dedicated budget of Rs 40 crore.

Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Sunday said a target of bringing 5 lakh acres under the Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) technique during the 2026-27 kharif season has been set, with a dedicated budget provision of Rs 40 crore.

Sharing details of the water-conserving DSR scheme, Khudian informed that 23,410 farmers adopted the DSR technique during the 2025 kharif season, covering 2,35,899 acres through direct sowing of paddy.

The state government has disbursed over Rs 35.38 crore as financial assistance -- at Rs 1,500 per acre -- directly into the bank accounts of all eligible farmers.

''This is a farmer-led revolution in water conservation. The remarkable response in 2025-26 has laid a strong foundation. Now, with a Rs 40-crore outlay and a target of 5 lakh acres for 2026-27, we are scaling up our commitment to save precious groundwater,'' Khudian stated.

Urging the state's farmers to adopt the water saving DSR technique and register early to avail the incentive, the agriculture minister further added that the online DSR registration portal for farmers willing to adopt the technique is already operational.

He said the DSR technique eliminates puddling and nursery transplantation, cutting the use of irrigation water by 15-20 per cent and slashing labour costs significantly -” a critical intervention in Punjab's broader strategy to reverse the decline of its water table, besides ensuring that economic incentive matches ecological urgency, he added.