Highlights of the draft Punjab State Farmers Policy published by the Punjab State Farmers’ and Farm Workers’ Commission (PSFC) in June 2018.

Excellent effort by PSFC. Looks like this is first time such an effort has been made in Punjab and not sure if such an effort has been made by any other state. This document deserves wide circulation, close study and extensive debate. I am sharing a few highlights based on a cursory scrutiny for the purpose of generating interest.

- Punjab is a great success story in agriculture, but as the document points out that 'The challenges of today are consequences of the successes in the past'.

- So what are some of the challenges.

• High dependence on wheat and rice.
• One Kg of rice consumes 3000-5000 litres of water.
• Yearly rainfall in Punjab is 62 cms as compared 116 cms average for India.
• 99% of cultivated area in Punjab is irrigated and ground water accounts for 73%.
• Power for farmers is free in Punjab.
• The result is that water water table is falling, submersible pumps are rising and 110 of the 138 blocks in Punjab are over exploited. This is a ticking time bomb.
• Productivity in wheat and rice in Punjab has peaked and is now stagnant. Input costs are rising and farm holdings are getting fragmented. This has lead to stress in farmer incomes and stagnation of agri GDP in Punjab.
• Lack of off farm job opportunities for youth in Punjab.

- The draft policy has taken a holistic view and provided policy recommendations in 12 different areas. There may be consensus on the issues and even on the broad policy outlines but as they say, the devil is in the detail. So I do believe that a lot of localized research and detailing will be called for.