Chandigarh: Ahead of the paddy harvesting season, the Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department has made advanced arrangements to further curtail paddy straw burning incidents in the state. The department has proactively issued 6,377 sanction letters for 11,052 Crop Residue Management (CRM) machines so far to help the farmers for managing paddy straw effectively.
Disclosing this here today in a press communiqué, Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian said that 5,534 CRM machines have already been acquired so far by farmers to efficiently manage the paddy straw. Of these, 4,640 machines were purchased by individual farmers, 745 by registered farmer groups, 119 by cooperative societies and 30 by farmer producer organisations.
He further informed that the Super Seeder machine leads the pack among CRM machines, with 4,945 sanction letters issued for this equipment. Additionally, 1,164 sanction letters have been granted for the Zero Till Drill, 637 for the Hydraulic Reversible MB Plough, 630 for the Straw Rake, 607 for the Bailing Machine and 591 for the Paddy Straw Chopper.
Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government devised a Rs 500 crore action plan to equip farmers with machinery and implement strategies to curb stubble burning in the state, said the Agriculture Minister while adding that the Agriculture department has received 21,830 applications from farmers, cooperative societies and panchayats seeking subsidies for different crop residue management (CRM) machinery during the Kharif season 2024-25.
S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian also mentioned that 163 Customer Hiring Centres (CHCs) have been established across the state so far to facilitate small and marginal farmers in accessing CRM machinery for effective crop residue management post-paddy harvesting. These machines are pivotal in promoting sustainable agriculture by supporting farmers in clearing fields efficiently while preserving soil health and fertility, he added.
S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian urged the state farmers to take maximum benefits of the lucrative subsidy being provided on CRM machines and ensure optimum utilisation of them to curb the stubble burning menace. Notably, the state has been providing 50% subsidy to individual farmers and 80% subsidy to farmer groups and cooperative societies on the purchase of CRM machines.