Farmers to be made aware about benefits of crop diversification

Central Chronicle News
Bhilai, May 29: Earlier the farmers of Durg district used to take a lot of interest in cultivating different crops but gradually their focus got concentrated only on paddy. Under Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, the incentive amount being paid for taking another crop in lieu of paddy has increased the expectation that farmers will go for other crops and will increase agricultural diversity.
Collector Dr Sarveshwar Narendra Bhure chaired a meeting of officials of Durg Block. Collector asked the officials how to encourage farmers to take another crop instead of paddy. Agricultural Expansion Officials said that they can target those farmers who have been cultivating pulses and oilseeds in the past years and are now cultivating paddy.
They informed that the area under crops like soyabean was quite vast. AREO of Nagpura region said that two-three decades ago farmers of this area were taking cotton crop, its cultivation area was quite good but due to lack of irrigation facilities, they could not take this crop further.
He said that now the irrigation facility has increased and the incentive amount is also being given by the government, so it is expected that farmers will again move towards crop diversification.
Collector explained various reasons due to which diversification of crops has become the need of the hour. The foremost reason is the quality of the land. The fertility of soil increases with crop diversity. Constant paddy harvest affects the fertility of the soil.
An amount of Rs 10000 per acre is given by the government for taking other crops besides paddy, which will make it easier for the farmers to bear the cost of the crop. The third big factor is the facility of insurance through which risk cover will also be easy for the farmers.
He said that big farmers can also take different crops in different areas of the fields, this will also increase the diversity and the income prospects will also be expanded. He said that bamboo and teakwood plantations can also be done in some areas.
In the meeting, the nodal officer of the scheme, Additional Collector Richa Prakash Chaudhary said that the farmer should be advised to take the crop according to the soil quality. This decision can be taken on the basis of the soil card. Apart from this, some pulses and oilseeds crops have a good track record of production in the region.
Farmers can also be motivated to re-cultivate it. District Panchayat CEO Sachchidanand Alok said that by constituting joint teams of agriculture expansion officers, horticulture officers and forest department officials, the farmers can be informed about the scheme and can be motivated for diversification of crops.