Chandigarh, February 1: The Punjab government will soon come up with an agriculture policy focusing on reaching acceptable levels of livelihoods for farmers, preserving natural resources, tackling disguised unemployment and improving delivery of services to rural communities.
Suresh Kumar, former chief principal secretary to the Punjab chief minister, shared these details on Wednesday on the concluding day of the two-day workshop on ‘Sustainable pathways to revitalize Punjab agriculture: Challenges and opportunities’ held at Zirakpur. Experts from World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India; and Punjab State Farmers’ Commission(PSFC) shared their views at the event.
In his speech, Kumar also focused on the farmers’ distress in Punjab and imperative to address the root causes behind farmer suicides, especially the challenges faced by small-holder farmers. Shyam Khadka, FAO representative in India, expressed over-financing of crop loans and use of loans in a significant proportion for consumption purposes leading to unsustainable indebtedness among farmers would reduce the overall well being of farm families.
Chairman of the PSFC Ajay Vir Jakhar highlighted the inadequacy of extension services resulting in farmers distress in Punjab. Anne Sophie Poisot, FAO advisor on sustainable agriculture, said there was a need for institutional innovations for transition from the conventional system of agriculture to a more farmer centric model.
Nanda Kumar, former secretary of the union agriculture department, shared examples of some successful Indian farmers innovating through highly diversified production systems, including horticulture, fisheries and conservation of natural resources, providing higher economic and ecological resilience, high quality production and better prices. He said there was a growing consumer demand for pesticide free and healthy fresh food, and this could be a huge income opportunity for Punjab farmers.
Source Times Of India
