Chandigarh, Aug 18 (IANS): Punjab’s crop diversification has received a significant boost with a notable 12.58 per cent increase in the area in the kharif season of basmati cultivation.

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said on Sunday that the cultivation of long-grain rice has expanded to 6.71 lakh hectares, a significant increase from 5.96 lakh hectares in 2023-24.

Amritsar district led the way with 1.46 lakh hectares of this aromatic rice. It was followed by Muktsar with 1.10 lakh hectares, Fazilka with 84,000 hectares, Tarn Taran with 72,000 hectares and Sangrur with nearly 50,000 hectares.

The minister also highlighted a substantial 46.5 per cent growth in the area under direct seeding of rice (DSR) in comparison to the previous year. The area cultivated using the water-saving DSR method has increased to over 2.52 lakh acres, a rise from 1.72 lakh acres in the kharif season of 2023.

The government has prohibited the use of 10 pesticides on basmati to enhance the export quality of the aromatic crop to a world-class standard.

In order to wean away farmers from water-guzzling paddy, the government aims to enhance the area under basmati crop by around 67 per cent.

Officials said to encourage farmers to adopt the DSR technique, the government has been providing Rs 1,500 per acre financial aid to them.

Initially, the department planned to bring two lakh hectares of paddy (non-basmati) under this technique during the ongoing sowing season, which was 1.70 lakh hectares last year.

To ensure the quality of bio-fertilisers, testing labs are being set up in Gurdaspur, Bathinda and Mohali.

A sum of Rs 80 lakh has been earmarked for the Gurdaspur lab.

The minister also asked the department officials to ensure good quality agri-inputs available to the farmers by taking samples of seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides frequently.

Anyone found indulged in malpractice will not be spared, he warned.

To bring the farmers out of the wheat-paddy circle, the government in its budget for this fiscal allocated Rs 575 crore for crop diversification schemes.

An allocation of Rs 9,330 crore in this fiscal is for power subsidy for agriculture. In the budget, there is a proposal to construct a Malwa Canal project with an aim to cover approximately 1,78,000 acres, benefiting the districts of Bathinda, Faridkot, Ferozepur and Muktsar to reduce reliance on groundwater.