KISAN COMMITTEE MEET HELD AT PAU

LUDHIANA, APRIL 11:



A joint meeting of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Kisan Committee and Fruits and Vegetables Producers' Committee was held here today. The progressive farmers from various parts of the Punjab state participated in the meet wherein all their farm queries were responded by the subject-matter specialists of the University. The representatives of the State Departments of Agriculture and Horticulture; Punjab Mandi Board; and MARKFED were also present on this occasion.



In his inaugural remarks, the Chief Guest, Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon impressed upon the farmers to make judicious use of pesticides, weedicides, and fertilizers for the conservation of natural resources. Highlighting the importance of horticulture, he said that fruits and vegetables hold a great scope in terms of crop diversification, income generation and nutritional security. Dr Dhillon also emphasized on exporting the wheat crop. He urged the farmers to shun the practice of paddy straw burning as the University has recommended many suitable technologies for straw management such as Happy Seeder and Baler. The farmers must adopt auxiliary occupations such as mushroom cultivation, bee-keeping, and dairy and poultry farming for good economic returns, he suggested. Calling upon the farmers to develop regular contact with the PAU experts, Dr Dhillon said that the strong farmer-scientist linkage is vital for the agri-development.



S. Kulwant S. Ahluwalia, Member, Board of Management, PAU, observed that alongwith increasing food production, focus on quality improvement is also essential for successful marketing. Advising the farmers to keep abreast of new farm innovations, he urged them to adopt latest agri-technologies to reduce costs of farm inputs, improve quality and boost farm productivity. He also stressed on the adoption of agri-allied enterprises such as agricultural tourism for supplementing the income. S. Ahluwalia lauded the PAU for its tremendous contribution to the nation's food buffer and asked the farmers to remain glued to the profession of agriculture and make it a lucrative venture.



Earlier, Dr M.S. Gill, Director of Extension Education, PAU, welcomed the dignitaries and the participating farmers. He remarked that such meetings provide an opportunity to the farmers to discuss various agrarian issues, and seek scientific solutions for the same from the farm experts.



The progressive farmers sought information on different aspects of agriculture including marketing of farm produce, crop diversification, intercropping techniques, agro-processing, protected cultivation of vegetables, paddy straw management, use of agri-machinery, insect-pests and disease management of various crops, availability of seeds, and training programmes. Besides, they deliberated on the cultivation of wheat, maize, paddy, basmati, sugarcane, and horticultural crops.




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