Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian said that according to the Crop Cutting Experiment (CCE) conducted by the Agriculture Department, an increase of 1.4 quintals has been recorded in the average yield of paddy per hectare this year. Total 2174 CCE for Kharif season 2024. Are being conducted, out of which the result of 1863 experiments has revealed a production of 6878 kg per hectare, whereas in 2023 this figure was 6740 kg. These figures include both non-Basmati and Basmati varieties of paddy. The minister said that till now 97 percent paddy harvesting has been completed in the state.
Sharing information about the ongoing wheat sowing in the state, he said that out of the set target of 35 lakh hectares, so far sowing has been done in 27 lakh hectare area, due to which 77 percent of the target has been achieved. This shows that the sowing process is going on smoothly in the state and sowing is expected to be completed in the remaining area also by the end of this month.
Throwing light on the current situation of fertilizers, Gurmeet Singh Khudian said that currently a total of 4.20 lakh metric tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and 0.55 lakh metric tonnes of other phosphatic fertilizers are available in the state for the Rabi season 2024-25. A total of 4.82 lakh metric tonnes of DAP is required for this season.
He said that accordingly, about 99 percent DAP and other phosphatic fertilizers are available in the state, which ensures that our farmers have the necessary resources for higher production of crops. Punjab is expecting 10,000 MT more DAP to arrive in the next 3-4 days, while 44,000 MT DAP is already in transit.
Reiterating Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann's commitment towards the welfare of farmers, the Agriculture Minister said that the Agriculture Department is fully dedicated to helping the farmers through various programs and initiatives. Extensive efforts are being made by the department to make farmers aware about sowing of Rabi crops in the state, under which emphasis is being laid on increasing agricultural productivity and meeting the needs of the farmer community.
