Chandigarh, Jul 4 (IANS): To save groundwater, the Punjab government has set a target to adopt direct seeding of rice (DSR) over five lakh acres, Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said here on Thursday.

He said over two lakh acres have already been sown using the DSR technique, which was 1.72 lakh acres higher than the last year.

The minister said the government has been providing financial assistance of Rs 1,500 to encourage the farmers to adopt the DSR technique.

The Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department has allocated Rs 50 crore to provide financial assistance to farmers opting for this technique during 2024-25. The government had provided Rs 20.33 crore as financial assistance to 17,116 farmers for adopting DSR in 2023-24.

Khudian urged the farmers to join hands with the government to save the groundwater by opting for DSR. He said the farmers, who have opted for the DSR, need to register on the government portal - agrimachinerypb.com - till July 15 to get the financial assistance. The DSR technique not only helps conserve water but also reduces labour costs and gives high yields, he added.