After compensating farmers in Punjab with Rs 1,500 per acre for adopting the direct seeding of rice (DSR) method, the state government has planned to reward farmers in Sangrur with Rs 2 for conserving one cubic metre or 1,000 litres of water. Officials stated they will be rewarded based on the amount of irrigation water saved during the kharif season.
The district's agricultural department has launched a water conservation pilot project in the Sunam and Dhuri blocks to encourage farmers to save groundwater by using water-saving techniques.
Under this pilot scheme, the department is also providing farmers with free paddy seeds of short-duration varieties. Officials noted that training programmes to educate farmers about water-saving practices are also being organized in selected areas.
"In tubewells, piezometers have been fitted to monitor groundwater extraction for irrigation by farmers. The final piezometer readings will be compared to average water consumption by traditional paddy varieties and sowing methods to determine actual water savings," an official stated.
According to Jaswinder Singh Grewal, Sangrur's chief agriculture officer, the government has chosen Sunam and Dhuri blocks for the trial project, which would be spread across the state if it works.
"Farmers will be paid Rs 2 per cubic metre of water saved. In these two blocks, a total of 34 clusters have been created, each covering 50 acres. We are giving them free seeds of PR126, a short-duration rice variety, in these clusters. It produces more than conventional and other short-term varieties. This variety uses less water and requires fewer days to prepare."
"The pilot project is an attempt to save water by substituting Pusa 44, a water-guzzling variety of paddy, with PR126, and by adopting other water-saving practices," said Gurvinder Singh, director of the state agriculture department.
