Saving Punjab and Haryana from ecological disaster

It is high time that the policymaking in the country is geared towards sustainable and profitable agriculture. The need of this is the most in Punjab-Haryana belt where entrenched rice cultivation is causing ecological disaster. The peasants of Punjab and Haryana have done a yeoman’s job in feeding the country and it is obligatory on the part of the state as well as the centre to steer them towards crops that are less damaging to environment and yet are more profitable than paddy.

This requires innovative policy solutions. One of such policy innovation is suggested in this policy brief, where farmers shifting from paddy to pulses, oilseeds, millets, and even kharif maize can be given roughly ₹35,000/ha on 50:50 basis under the joint package of the relevant state and the Centre. Haryana is already giving ₹17,500/ha and the centre needs to double it up. Interestingly, there is hardly any additional expenditure involved. It is the savings on power, canal waters, and fertiliser subsidies that need to be given back to farmers in a different form. If this is done, India can save the most fertile plains of Punjab-Haryana from potential desertification. And that will be a great service to the country.

This paper can be accessed here.

This paper is authored by Reena Singh, Purvi Thangaraj, Ritika Juneja and Ashok Gulati, ICRIER.