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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Inertia or economics? Why Punjab’s farmers can’t move beyond rice and wheat -Shweta Saini and Siraj Hussain

Inertia or economics? Why Punjab’s farmers can’t move beyond rice and wheat -Shweta Saini and Siraj Hussain

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published Published on Apr 18, 2022   modified Modified on Apr 20, 2022

-ThePrint.in

Diversification is critical for Punjab and Haryana farmers who face the challenge of depleting water tables. We need another agricultural revolution.

Every time we visit Punjab, we ask farmers why they stick with the rice-wheat cropping pattern year on year. Especially when most are witnessing receding underground water levels, forcing them to deepen their borewells each year during the paddy season. One answer from a young farmer stayed with us. He said, if you give us profitable and stable markets, we will produce whatever you want us to produce.

It is well established that Punjab’s farmers are hardworking and enterprising. Most of them today acknowledge that the underground water line is receding and their costs of cultivating, particularly paddy, are rising. Families of many in rural Punjab continue to suffer from severe illness due to high dosages of fertilisers and chemical pesticides applied to crops that are then found in the soil and even water. So, why is it that, despite the large-scale suffering and continued advisory from experts over the last two decades, Punjab’s farmers have not diversified away from water-guzzling paddy? Is it inertia or is there economics at play?

In a series of articles, we will explore the diversification plans of Punjab and Haryana farmers, both of whom face similar challenges of depleting water tables. We start with this article where we list a few plausible reasons why the Punjab farmers are reluctant to move away from rice and wheat.

Please click here to read more.


ThePrint.in, 18 April, 2022, https://theprint.in/opinion/inertia-or-economics-why-punjabs-farmers-cant-move-beyond-rice-and-wheat/920460/


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