Chandigarh, July 3 (IANS) The Punjab government has announced a new package to encourage farmers grow pulses on a large scale, a minister said Sunday.
Agriculture Minister Sucha Singh Langah said that under the new package the government would provide subsidies on pulses’ seeds, pesticides and farming machines besides providing technical support.
Langah said that the government would provide up to 50 percent subsidy on farming machines for pulses.
The minister said that the government opened 20 ‘farmer field schools’ last year to provide scientific training to farmers for cultivation of pulses. The number of such schools will be increased to 35 this year, he added.
Langah said that 77,000 hectares land in the state was under pulses’ cultivation during the recent season (March-April). The area under pulses’ cultiviation in 2010-11 was 41,000 hectares.
He said that the state was expecting production of 20,000 tonnes of pulses this year as compared to 16,000 tonnes last year.
