Kalam centrestage, diversification diverted

After hyping the issue for weeks, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh touched on the issue of crop diversification only fleetingly, thereby disappointing hundreds of farmers who had come to the Kisan Mela to learn something concrete about the project.

The limelight went to President A P J Abdul Kalam, who inaugurated the mela at the Punjab Agricultural University. Lauding Punjab for its role in the first green revolution, the President said the time had come for a new agricultural revolution in the country and Punjab should be at the forefront again.

Calling for a look-ahead approach instead of resting on past laurels, Kalam cautioned the scientists and farmers from lapsing into complacency.

Recalling how he used to queue up as a 19-year-old for foodgrains brought in by US ships, Kalam said, ‘‘We achieved the first green revolution, which was about seeds, fertilisers and foodgrains. Now we need a second green revolution that will include first soil characterising seed, fertilisers, use of pre- and post-harvest technology and marketing strategies,’’ he said.

Unveiling his eight-point agenda for ‘‘prosperous village life’’, Kalam laid stress on providing quality education to boys and girls without any gender discrimination and advised farmers to stay away from gambling and liquor.

For farmers who had come to the mela in search of more concrete tips on diversification, though, the President’s speech — as the chief minister’s — was cold comfort. ‘‘I came here in hope of an action plan for the next sowing season. I thought the chief minister would have assurances on crops other than rice and wheat, but he had nothing for us,’’ complained Avtar Singh of Macchiwara village.

Capt Amarinder fell back on familiar state-Centre rhetoric to explain the non-implementation of the Johl Committee report. ‘‘The Centre is not ready to come to our aid. We asked for Rs 1290 crore, which would have saved them Rs 5000 crore annually. Yet they turned down our request, thereby turning their backs on the state’s farmers, the very farmers who spearheaded the Green Revolution to save our nation from hunger,’’ he said.

That these weren’t the words the people had come to hear was apparent from the lukewarm response.

Capt Amarinder said that if the Centre gave the state Rs 1,290 crore, it could give an incentive of Rs 12,500/hectare to farmers who diversified from the wheat-rice cycle.

The grain cultivation cycle is said to be the main culprit for the depletion of the water-table in the state; diversification of crops is also expected to boost the groundwater levels.

According to Dr Johl, architect of the diversification plan (see box), Punjab can only afford to irrigate 1.6 million hectares of land for wheat and rice. “This is not a figure out of the thin air. Beyond this figure, we have to mine our own water, which has led to the depletion of the water table in the state,” he said.

Experts say that the first step towards diversification of crops in the state is to halt the squeeze on farmers’ income, which was stretched by increasing input costs (fertilisers and pesticides, besides water-mining).