Ludhiana, Sep 23: Inaugurating the 50th golden jubilee Kisan Mela at Punjab Agricultural University on Friday, the state finance minister Manpreet Badal said that ‘it is time for Punjab to move away from Green Revolution mode and break the wheat-paddy cycle’.
Addressing the farmers, Badal said that ‘Green Revolution now must move eastwards and Punjab should be relieved of this duty to produce enough grains for the country.’
He said that ‘Punjab has already sacrificed its soil and water resources for almost 70 years to make the country self-sufficient in cereals production.’
He also stressed upon higher education for the children of farmers and said that ‘agriculture is no more an obvious and the best profession for them.’
Badal called upon the central government to help Punjab in ‘coming out of Green Revolution mode.’
Speaking to The Indian Express at the sidelines of the mela, Badal said, “Now this Green Revolution of producing cereals must move eastwards. Now it is time for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orrisa, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh to take this on their shoulders. Punjab has already sacrificed a lot. Our soils are poisoned and waters are depleting. These eastern states are better equipped than Punjab to produce wheat and rice for the country. Since 70 years Punjab modeled its agriculture to suit the needs of India. We produced enough to take care of food security but now it is time to give up. Now our agriculture needs to be re-modeled and it should move towards fruits, vegetables and milk production.”
Badal added that the NDA government at the center should help Punjab in coming out of this Green Revolution mode. “Punjab has stood for the country when it was needed and now we must be relieved of this duty. Union government needs to help us in this. We need to shift gears- immediately if natural resources of Punjab have to be saved,” he said.
Calling upon the farmers, he said they must educate their children. “Skip one meal a day but there should be no compromise on education of your children. Farming is no more an obvious profession for your children. They must get higher education and explore other fields,” he said. “The contribution of agriculture sector to GDP of Punjab is just 20-21% but more than 50% are employed in this sector. Obviously, this sector now cannot give enough earnings to youths. They must attain higher education and go to other fields,” he said. “The government will also be helping farmers in educating their children,” he added.
“I have written to the union finance minister Arun Jaitley requesting him to rename Food Policy as Nutrition Policy,” he disclosed.
Meanwhile, the PAU Kisan Mela kicked off on Friday with the theme of ‘curtailing expenditures on weddings and bhog ceremonies’. A signature campaign was also started and a book was also released titled ‘Saadey Vihaay, Saadey Bhog’ (simple weddings, simple death ceremonies) to educate farmers against splurging on weddings which leads to mounting debt and ultimately suicides.
The 23rd livestock mela at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) saw the launching of black currant flavored lassi, shrimp pickle and ginger/garlic feed for the fish farmers. Three calendars on reproduction of goats and deworming/vaccination of animals was also released for farmers.
News Source: http://indianexpress.com
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