The Punjab Government has taken the commendable decision regarding agriculture in order to save underground water. Two major decisions are first to provide financial help of Rs 1500/acre to those farmers who will adopt DSR (Direct Sown Rice) Technique. Second that those farmers who will grow moong crop their produce will be purchased by the government at MSP of Rs7275/ per quintal. Though the intention of the government seems to be good but a million dollar question is whether we will be able to save water. Take a note of the Government’s decision that MSP will be paid to those farmers only who after moong crop will sow PR126 or Basmati. It gives a clear indication that they are referring to Sathi moongi which means the third crop, which will take another 40 cm of water if after pre-sowing irrigation only 4 irrigations are given to the standing crop. Every additional irrigation will consume 7.5 cm or 3-inch water.
Major causes of depleting underground water
- Intensive cultivation means that throughout the year there are some crops standing in the fields which leads to water loss through evapotranspiration (ET). Evapotranspiration of various crops is rice 73 cm, cotton 60 cm, sugarcane 180cm, moong 40 cm wheat 50 cm and grams 40 cm. green fodders ET is much higher than these crops, the reason being higher crop density. Now as per government record cropping intensity is 189% but the actual intensity is around 240%. We can’t reduce crop intensity being small holdings and heavy dependency on agriculture for livelihood.
- Rice is a crop of high rainfall areas because of its high water demand. It was introduced in Punjab
- To eradicate water logging and ameliorate salt-affected soils.
- To fill the country’s food bowl to meet the population’s hunger needs.
- The Government incentivizes paddy production by raising the procurement price almost equivalent to wheat.
The situation is changed now but we are trapped in an economic muddle and unable to leave the paddy. It is a vicious circle that farmer needs to produce more to clear their debt and meet domestic needs. Paddy is the crop that has the highest productivity when grown in a large area. The central government has increased the production target of rice to 1120 lakh tons of rice this year as compared to 1050 lakh tons last year. Gives a clear picture that the center wants the states to increase the production i.e Punjab also needs to increase the production as the water shortage is faced by the whole country, but at the same time government is shying away from its purchase.
- The 3rd reason for decreasing the water table is reduced rainfall. As per government data, average rainfall has decreased by 20 cm during the last 50 to 60 years. At present average rainfall is 45 cm, it was 65 cm when river waters were distributed among states, less rainfall means less water. Hence more dependence on underground water to increase productivity.
What does Punjab Government need to do? – To handle the given situation Punjab Government needs to find out two types of solutions (i) one immediate and (ii) long term.
The immediate steps:-
- Punjab preservation of sub – soil water Act 2009 needs to be implemented with immediate effect. This allows the farmers to cultivate puddled rice from 20 June onwards. This Act was implemented till 2020 the year of the start of the covid pandemic. In 2020 the rules were relaxed due to a shortage of labor. As the pandemic is over so the Government has announced the sowing of paddy from 15 June onwards the Government needs to stringently check its implementation.
- The long-duration crop varieties like PUSA44 need to be banned even by bringing the ordinance.
- The cultivation of short-duration varieties like PR126 needs to be encouraged and seeds made available to the farmers.
- The area under basmati should be encouraged after assessing international demand.
Long-term solutions –
As discussed earlier the negative water balance is mainly due to high cropping intensity. The question here is if the cropping intensity is reduced it can be detrimental for the agrarian states where a major section of the population is dependent on it. The State requires a cropping pattern that needs less water but at the same time, the net income of the farmer household remains equivalent to the existing cropping pattern. Further, the agricultural scientists can find out the cultivation practices for a given cropping pattern which can further curtail the water requirement. The rice-wheat cropping pattern is highly mechanized but even though farm wages in the state are the highest in the country, what I mean to say is that the suggested crops will be adopted only if their cultivation is at least partially mechanized. Taking an example of Moong Crop the yield of moong is just 5 quintals per acre which is much less than the rice. The crop doesn’t mature at the same time hence after harvesting one needs to keep it for ripening if rain comes during that time moong changes its color, thus the quality deteriorates and problems of marketing arise. Due to the above-cited reasons, farmers don’t take it as a replacement for rice but it can only be a third crop i.e. Sathi moong.
In order to develop a new cropping pattern for saving water, a committee of experts and farmers needs to be constituted. The farmer representatives may include nominated members of farm unions and non-aligned practical farmers. The mandate of the committee should be to find out the cropping pattern keeping in mind to check the further depletion of underground water. In the whole process, our aim should be able to curtail the water use and retain or improve the farmer’s income.