‘Farmers are not opposing paddy diversification…political men have problems’: Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister JP Dalal

Earlier, they had questioned wheat procurement, while stating that it won’t be completed even in three months. But the procurement was very smooth, which has upset the Opposition, Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister JP Dalal said

Following stiff opposition by farmers against Haryana government’s restrictions on paddy cultivation in some blocks of the state, the authorities were forced to relax the conditions Tuesday. However, Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister JP Dalal believes they will able to convince the farmers to go for crop diversification to ensure water conservation. Dalal tells Sukhbir Siwach why the crop diversification scheme was launched and why the opposition is not happy with it.

Why has the government taken an U-turn on restrictions on paddy cultivation?

There is no U-turn. We had requested the farmers earlier too. An incentive of Rs 7,000 will be given to those farmers who will opt for alternative crops in place of paddy. The farmers are with us. They understand that the water needs to be saved for the future generations. Neither there was any ban (on paddy cultivation) earlier, nor it is now.

What’s the objective behind restrictions on paddy cultivation?

See, we have urged them to sow those crops which require less water. That’s why the scheme has been named as ‘mera pani, meri virasat’.

Then why are farmers opposing it?

The farmers are not opposing it…the political men (from opposition) have problems. Earlier, they had questioned wheat procurement, while stating that it won’t be completed even in three months. But the procurement was very smooth, which has upset the Opposition. Now, they are trying to find a new issue.

The Opposition says its not the time for such experiments when the country is fighting the coronavirus pandemic?

The farmer himself wants to leave the paddy because of labour crunch as the migrant labourers have returned to their states. We have offered an alternative to the farmers.

The farmers say maize seeds given to them under a similar scheme in 2019 had failed to yield any produce. The farmers say they did not get any compensation too.

Because of model code of conduct, we could not publicise the scheme to the farmers last year. The seeds, which were distributed to the farmers, were not sown. And we could not achieve the target. We had given maize seeds to the farmers for only 2,000 hectare but this time instead of seeds we will given an incentive of Rs 7,000 per acre. The farmers can choose high quality seeds as per their wishes. They are free to choose any alternative crop like vegetables, pulses, cotton or horticulture. We will offer 85 per cent subsidy to them if they opt for drip irrigation. Other facilities will also be given if they opt for horticulture.

Do you believe that you will able to convince the farmers for crop diversification?

Surely. The opposition had launched a misinformation campaign even against the crop insurance scheme to incite the farmers. But now the farmers are happy with the insurance scheme. The opponents want to politicise this issue too while keeping the farmers on front. But the farmers are happy with the policies of the government. In just four days, farmers have registered themselves for the crop diversification scheme to shift to alternative crops from paddy in over 25,000 acres.

The late payment to farmers in lieu of procurement of wheat and mustard has also been a big issue this time. What do you say?

A delay of 4-5 days in the payment took place this time because the arhtiyas were not familiar with the new system of payment. We have already made a payment of Rs 2,000 crore in lieu of procurement of mustard and over Rs 9,000 crore for the wheat. The Chief Minister has announced Tuesday that all payments will be done by May 31. I bow down to the farmers who have filled the godowns with food grains this time despite the lockdown. The entire country is grateful to them.

How do you plan to check locust swarm invasion in Haryana?

No doubt, we are scared as the locust swarm has already entered areas in bordering state Rajasthan. But we are fully prepared. If locusts invade Haryana, we will make sure they don’t remain alive. We have already arranged medicines to deal with the problem.

How can the destiny of farmer be changed?

I am from a farmer family. The farmers need loans on low rate interest. The farmers will be safe with the farm loans at the rate of 4 per cent. With the introduction of crop insurance scheme, we have freed them from the risks in agriculture sector. With the removal of mandi Act, the farmers can sell their crops to anyone, anywhere.