“Navi Soch Navan Punjab”- Kapurthala MLA ask Malwa farmers to cultivate maize instead of water guzzling paddy
Kanwar Inder singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ March 10,2025
Members of legislative Assembly, Punjab, Rana Gurjeet Singh today held discussions with farmers from Muktsar area motivating them to adopt best agricultural practices, leading to crop diversification and begin maize cultivation, replacing the water guzzling paddy.
He called upon the farmers not to turn back towards traditional crops such as cotton, called the white gold that offers high remunerative prices to the growers.
“I am making efforts to bring genetically modified Bollgard-III seeds resistant to the pests. Cotton crop gave real prosperity in the area, so farmers should not abandon the crop. However, in the meanwhile we should start cultivating kharif maize and I assure you best remunerative price,” said the legislator.
In the event “Navi Soch Navan Punjab” organised at Muktsar, Rana introduced maize expert from Indian council for agricultural research (ICAR) Hanuman Singh Jat, who also recommended the maize crop as best alternative to water guzzling paddy.
“Punjab produces 4 lakh tonne of maize every year and the demand is for 40 lakh tonne, and Rana Ji has offered upto Rs. 2,400 per quintal which is higher than the MSP of Rs. 2,225 per quintal. In my opinion farmers are in a win-win situation,” he said, offering all support to the maize growers from seeds selection to best practices for growing the crop.
He adds that the ICAR has hybrid varieties which give ethanol recovery of 42% and encouraged farmers to become seed producers which gives three times earning from the crop.
“Navi Soch Navan Punjab”- Kapurthala MLA ask Malwa farmers to cultivate maize instead of water guzzling paddy Rana Gurjeet Singh offered all support to the farmers in growing maize, which includes from selecting high yielding seeds to marketing support after the harvest. He assured to start a helpline for maize growers to guide them for growing crop.
He called upon the farmers to become entrepreneurs to supplement their income as the size of land holdings is shrinking and dependence on agriculture alone is unviable. He asked farmers to install solar panels on the tubewells and start generating revenue from selling power.
“There are 14.5 lakh tubewells in the state and each installed with solar panels will bring a revolution of its kind, as it would save Rs. 9,300 crore of power subsidy given by the state government annually to operate agriculture tubewell,” he said.
Kapurthala MLA also said he would also meet the Shrimp and fish farmers in Abohar and Fazilka area and will guide them to generate higher revenue and rear best quality fish and shrimp. On the occasion he encouraged the farmers to engage in dairy farming and asked the government to make stricter laws to check adulteration.
On the occasion Rana Gurjeet Singh made vehement appeal to save youth from the scourge of drugs. “There are multiple challenges; we should save our water, soil, environment, farmers, farm labour and most important the youth who represent the future”. We should be concerned about the upcoming generations, he reiterated.
During the interaction with farmers Rana Gurjeet Singh said diversification of crops in Punjab is being discussed and assured by the governments from time to time since 1985, however due to their utter failure the cotton crop in the area farmers have been pushed to an acute stress forcing them to shift to cultivation of paddy crop in the kharif season.
“The paddy crop has already done much damage as the water table in the area has been pushed excessively to lower levels and the threat of desertification is imminent,” said Kapurthala MLA, motivating farmers to grow maize instead of paddy.
A few years ago cotton was grown over 8 lakh hectares (20 lakh acres approx.), the area under the crop now has shrunk to just 98,000 hectares (2.4 lakh acres), a cause of plausible worry, said the lawmaker.
“By cultivating maize farmers will become partners in industrialization in Punjab as the crop will feed ethanol, starch and cattle feed industry,” he said. There is a network of canals in the area and we would make adequate use of the water from these canals to irrigate maize crop.
Speaking on the occasion Sultanpur Lodhi MLA Rana Inder Partap Singh said that people of Malwa understand politics and experts in agriculture. Today we are here to promote best agricultural practices,” he said.
Due to failure of cotton crop farmers shifted to paddy which is hazardous for environment importantly for underground water. “So I ask farmers to shift to maize and Rana Ji had already promised to purchase crop at Rs. 2,400 per quintal, which used to sell for Rs. 1,200 per quintal two years ago,” he said.
“Navi Soch Navan Punjab”- Kapurthala MLA ask Malwa farmers to cultivate maize instead of water guzzling paddy. Former MLA Karan Kaur Brar was also attended the event.
