Direct seeding of rice in 3L acres: Agri minister
The benefits and challenges of adopting DSR were discussed at the workshop that was attended by farmers and deputy directors of agriculture (DDAs) of several districts.
Haryana agriculture minister Shyam Singh Rana on Friday said that the state government has set a target to cover 3 lakh acres of land under direct seeding of rice (DSR) for the upcoming paddy season this year.
Rana was in Kurukshetra to preside over a workshop on new rice cropping solutions to promote conservation of water and reduce incidents of stubble burning.
The benefits and challenges of adopting DSR were discussed at the workshop that was attended by farmers and deputy directors of agriculture (DDAs) of several districts.
It was stressed that the usage of DSR can prevent the decline of groundwater level and improve the efficiency of paddy cultivation.
The minister said that the state government is providing a subsidy of ₹4,000 per acre for farmers adopting DSR, which is the highest in the country.
“Haryana is a leading state in promoting sustainable paddy cultivation. Unlike traditional transplanting methods, which require excessive water, DSR does not require transplanting of saplings, which significantly reduces water consumption and labour costs,” he added.
He further said that the schemes of the state government are helping farmers shift towards sustainable agriculture and as traditional paddy cultivation requires about 3,000-4,000 litres of water per kg of paddy production, it is a water-intensive process.
Keeping this in mind, the state government is actively promoting DSR to conserve water and improve agricultural efficiency, he said.
“Paddy is a major kharif crop of Haryana with a production of over 59.21 lakh tonnes in 2022-23. Paddy cultivation is spread over about 30 lakh hectares in the state. Government also aims to bring 3 lakh acres of land under DSR farming, and by 2024, 50,540 farmers have already adopted this technology on 1.8 lakh acres of land,” he added.
