Give major push to crop diversification, says Punjab CM at PAU summit

Ludhiana: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday gave a clarion call to the agriculture scientists and experts to give a major push to crop diversification.

The Chief Minister, in his address at the International Conference on Transforming Agri-Food Systems in the Face of Climate Change and Energy Transitions at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here, emphasized the urgency of addressing climate change’s impact on agriculture, especially in the wake of state’s vulnerability due to its intensive rice and wheat production.

Mann said crop diversification “is much needed to accelerate resilience, higher yields and nutrient-rich soil”. He encouraged the scientists attending the conference to do more and more work for propelling crop diversification.

The Chief Minister said that the onus is on the scientists to guide our farmers in adopting sustainable practices ensuring Punjab's agricultural prosperity.

Stressing the urgency of addressing climate change, he said the failure to act would have severe consequences for future generations.

Mann added that in this case, the coming generations will undoubtedly hold us accountable for our inaction.

“The clock is ticking and it's imperative for all of us to adopt proactive measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.” Citing the alarming statistic, he said growing one kilogram of rice requires 3,000 litres of water and the same motors that gush out petrol in Gulf countries are used for pumping water from beneath the ground in the state.

Mann said this unsustainable practice threatens the very foundation and existence of Punjab, a state named after five rivers.

To mitigate this crisis, the Chief Minister advocated adopting alternative water-saving crops so that agriculture could be saved in the state.

Recalling the contribution of Punjab in making the country self-reliant in foodgrain production, he said the hard-working and resilient farmers had provided food security to the country in testing times.

However, Mann said for this they had to over-exploit their only available natural resources in terms of fertile land and water.