Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann extended on Tuesday gave a clarion call to the agri scientists and experts across the globe to become guiding light for farmers thereby enabling them to give a major push to crop diversification in the state. The Chief Minister, in his address at International Conference on Transforming AgriFood Systems in the Face of Climate Change and Energy Transitions at PAU, emphasized the urgency of addressing climate change's impact on agriculture especially in wake of Punjab's vulnerability due to its intensive rice and wheat production.
Bhagwant Singh Mann said that crop diversification is much needed to accelerate resilience, higher yields and nutrient-rich soil. He encouraged the scientists attending this prestigious International Conference on Effects of Climate Change to do more and more work for propelling crop diversification in the state.
The Chief Minister said that the onus is on the scientists to guide our farmers in adopting sustainable practices ensuring Punjab's agricultural prosperity. Stressing on the urgency of addressing climate change, he said that failure to act will have severe consequences for future generations. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that in this case the coming generations will undoubtedly hold us accountable for our inaction.
The Chief Minister said that the clock is ticking and it's imperative for all of us to adopt proactive measures to mitigate the effects of climate change. Citing the alarming statistic, he said that growing one kilogram of rice requires 3,000 litres of water and the same motors that gushes out petrol in gulf country is used for pumping water from beneath the ground in the state.
Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this unsustainable practice threatens the very foundation and existence of Punjab, a state named after five rivers. To mitigate this crisis, the Chief Minister advocated adopting alternative water saving crops so that the agriculture could be saved in the state.Recalling the immense contribution of Punjab in making country self reliant in food grain production, he said that the hard working and resilient farmers of the state had provided food security to country in testing times.
However, Bhagwant Singh Mann said that for this they had to over exploit their only available natural resources in terms of fertile land and water. The Chief Minister recalled that Punjab has played a pivotal role in ushering in the Green Revolution in India and the farmers of state have transformed Punjab into a surplus state for food grains and contributing significantly to the national food pool.
He said that since agricultural production has reached a stage of plateau so accelerating agricultural diversification through high-value crops such as fruits and vegetables is imperative. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this shift has the potential to raise farm incomes, ensure sustainability, and provide livelihood security to farmers while also checking climate change.