- Agricultural Minister Dhaliwal himself Demonstrates Working of Newly Developed Smart Seeder Machine
- Smart Seeder Would Prove a boon to ensure judicious management of Stubble
- PAU Developed Machine to be made available to Punjab farmers on Subsidised Rates
- Appeals farmers to sow Sugarcane, Pulses and Maize to replace the traditional crop cycle to save environment and depleting water table
Nawanshahr: Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said here today that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government is making all possible efforts to dispose of stubble in the state without burning. Under it, as many as 1.33 lakh agricultural implements have been made available in the state on subsidy to the farmers.
He was addressing gathering at Wajidpur village here in today after giving a demo of Smart Seeder (a wheat planting sowing without setting fire to stubble) by himself driving tractor. He said that this machine is made with the dual technology of Super Seeder and Happy Seeder in Punjab and it will prove a boon for straw disposal. He said that smart seeder machine, capable of working with small tractor, will also be given on subsidy.
The price of Smart Seeder machine, a mixture of Happy Seeder and Super Seeder machines, is around Rs 2,30,000. This machine is becoming the choice of farmers due to its small tractor operation and low diesel consumption. This machine sows one acre in an hour at the rate of 5.0-6.0 liters of diesel per hour.
Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayat and NRI Affairs Dhaliwal said that the performance of this machine was demonstrated today in the presence of administrative , departmental officials as well as Doaba Kisan Union President Kuldeep Singh Wajidpur and other farmers so that Farmers can be made an important part of the government's awareness campaign against stubble burning.
Addressing the farmers, Minister Dhaliwal said that we need to replace the traditional crop rotation of paddy and wheat and switch to alternative crops like sugarcane, maize and pulses to save air from getting polluted and water from depleting in Punjab. He said that Punjab has sacrificed its natural resources to fill the country's food bowls. He said that now the time has come that we should also save the water of our state. He said that maximum area should be brought under sugarcane. He said that the government has paid all the dues of sugarcane and has also increased the SAP as per the wishes of the farmers.
He appealed to the farmers to give full support to the efforts of the government to save the environment and water table of Punjab from further depletion so that the economy of Punjab state based on agriculture can also be sustained.
Among the prominent persons present there included Balachaur MLA Mrs. Santosh Kataria, DC Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa, SSP Bhagirth Singh Meena, AAP senior leaders Lalit Mohan Pathak Nawanshahr, Kuljit Singh Sarhal Banga, District President Satnam Chechi Jalalpur, ADC (Development) Amardeep Singh Bains, SDM Nawanshahr Major Shivraj Singh Bal, Chief Agriculture Officer Harvinder Lal Chopra, DDPO Davinder Kumar Sharma, AAP SC wing District President Balbir Karnana, District Secretary Gagan Agnihotri and a large number of farmers.