With an aiming to save the depleting groundwater table in the region, the Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Department has decided to double the area under maize cultivation by encouraging the farmers to shun the cultivation of water guzzling paddy crop.Under its ambitious crop diversification program, the department has been providing quality maize seeds to the farmers on subsidy and now the department has set the target of increasing the area under maize cultivation to 10,000 hectares from 5000 hectares this season in Jalandhar.Divulging more details, the Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) Jalandhar Dr. Nazar Singh said that under the diversification program, the department is offering a subsidy of Rs 90 for one-kg maize seeds of several varieties which are duly certified by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). He said that the varieties include NK 7750, NK-7720, P-3396, P-3401, PAC-751, ADVG-9293, PMH-1, PL-801, PL-901, TX-369, Lakshmi-333, LG-3405 and others are being given in the offices of the department to the farmers on first come-first serve basis.
Dr. Singh informed that the groundwater table has been depleting by 37-cm annually in the district and all the ten blocks of the Jalandhar district have been declared overexploited. The Chief Agriculture Officer said that Maize could be the best alternate for water consuming paddy crop to save the depleting ground water. Further clarifying, he said that there is a need of 3700-liter water for one-kg paddy whereas, in the case of one-kg maize, 1222 liter water is needed which is much lower than the paddy. Dr. Singh added by replacing the paddy with maize, we can stop further depletion of groundwater in the district.He also told that the department is also brainstorming over the issue of marketing problem of maize crop and this issue is being sorted out so that the maximum farmers can be motivated to adopt the crop. CAO also advised the farmers to use the portable dryer for drying the maize crop before bringing the crop in the market as it will fetch high prices.