Paddy's Last Straw?

Haryana has launched a scheme to dissuade farmers from growing water-guzzling paddy, but most remain sceptical JITENDRA & MEENAKSHISUSHMA KURUKSHETRA, HARYANA

- Jitendra & Meenakshi Sushma

IN A LAST-ditch attempt to arrest the fall in its water table, Haryana is incentivizing farmers to quit growing water-intensive paddy and shift to crops like maize and pulses. Launched on May 27, Jal Hi Jeevan Hai, the crop diversification scheme, is being implemented on a pilot basis in seven blocks, each in a different district.

A little over 0.19 million hectares (ha) is under paddy cultivation in the seven blocks, as per the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Haryana. Of this, about 45 percent (87,900 ha) is under nonbasmati paddy—all known water-guzzlers—and the government seeks to wean off 50,000 ha through this scheme. The farmers have time till July 24 to register their land if they want to avail the benefits of the scheme, which are free maize and pigeon pea seeds (though officials say that only maize seeds are available currently), a one-time financial assistance of R2,000 per acre (1 acre equals 0.4 ha), crop insurance (the government will bear the premium of R766 per ha) and assured procurement under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime. Talking to Down To Earth, Suresh Gahlawat, additional director (extension), agriculture and farmers welfare department, Haryana, said that by June 20, farmers had already registered 30,000 ha. However, most farmers DTE spoke to in Kurukshetra, one of the seven districts the scheme is being implemented in, were unsure of the scheme.