Kisan-Khet schools for farmers in Punjab

In an initiative to motivate farmers to take up export quality Basmati rice crop, the Punjab Agriculture Department has opened Kisan-Khet schools (Farmers-Farm schools) under a crop diversification programme here.

By Ravinder Singh Robin

Dyalpur (Jalandhar), June 15 : In an initiative to motivate farmers to take up export quality Basmati rice crop, the Punjab Agriculture Department has opened Kisan-Khet schools (Farmers-Farm schools) under a crop diversification programme here.

Various agricultural experts have been roped in to provide tips and information to farmers at the specially opened "Kisan Khet Schools".

Farmers attending these specially organised classes are motivated to take up Basmati crop cultivation besides being provided the high quality seed on subsidized rates under the scheme.

Few villages have been selected under this scheme and training is being imparted about the methods of cultivating export quality Basmati rice. Farmers are informed how the new Basmati crop would nearly double their present income from the routine paddy cultivation.

In one such attempt, the Punjab Agriculture Department in collaboration with Central Integrated Pest Management Centre opened "Kisan Khet School" at the Dyalpur Village in Jalandhar on Thursday.

The programme will last 14 weeks with both departments training farmers during a two-hour weekly class.

During the classes, the farmers were given live demonstrations about the equipments used in the Basmati cultivation. They were taught how local farmers could market the crop at a high price through private agencies.

Suttantar Kumar Aery, the Chief Agriculture Officer for Jalandhar, said, "We have entered an agreement with the Rice exporters for lifting up the export quality Basmati Rice."

He added: "They have provided 50 quintals seed of 386 varieties to the farmers at half price and giving training them on seed treatment process so that they could get more production on less cost."

"Few villages in Jalandhar, Phillaur and Nakodar blocks have been selected for Basmati cultivation under the scheme," he said.

Talwinder Singh, one of the farmers at the school, said: "Such efforts motivate us to adopt the new techniques which would further resulted in getting more production with less cost."

Talwinder has sown 386 variety of Basmati Rice in his 12 acres farm land.

Ranjit Singh another farmer said that his only hesitation was the marketing of the product. He said if the department has assured a fix amount for the ready crop it would attract more farmers to join this crop diversification scheme.

ANI