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In order to benefit the farmers by supplementing their income through Agro forestry, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today launched India’s first e-timber portal.
Divulging more details, the Chief Minister said that this first of its kind portal in the country has been developed by the Forest department and will ensure complete transparency in selling and buying of timber thereby benefitting the farmers. He said that earlier in the state the buying and selling of timber is done largely through unorganised markets due to which farmers are not able to get its remunerative prices. Bhagwant Mann said that due to this farmers are drifting away from Agro forestry.
However, the Chief Minister said that as the Agro-forestry can act as a pivot to transform the destiny of farmers, so the state government is leaving no stone unturned for promoting it. Listing the salient features of the portal, he said that this online portal will immensely help the farmers as they can sell the timber at any place of the choice via online. Bhagwant Mann further said that the portal will ensure remunerative price of the produce of the farmers thereby encouraging them towards Agro-forestry.
The Chief Minister further said that the online sale and purchase of the timber will also save the time, money and energy of the farmers thereby immensely benefiting them. Bhagwant Mann said that this portal will transform the destiny of the farmers by bailing them from the current agrarian crisis. He further said that this portal will also help in direct communication and interaction between industry and farmers thereby mutually benefiting both the sectors in a big way.
MASSIVE RESPONSE TO FIRST OF ITS KIND SARKAR-KISAN MILNI ORGANIZED AT PAU: Reiterating the firm commitment of the state government to make agriculture a profitable venture, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday advocated for making new experiments in the field of agriculture to supplement the income of the farmers.
Presiding over the first of its kind initiative of Government- Farmers (Sarkar-Kisan) interaction (milni), which got massive response from the farmers here at PAU, the Chief Minister said that this unique endeavor is aimed at ensuring the well being of the farmers. He said that active participation of farmers is the need of the hour to bail them out from the ongoing agrarian crisis. Bhagwant Mann said that due to ever escalating input costs and diminishing returns agriculture is no longer profitable venture.
The Chief Minister said that due to this the farmers of the state are on cross roads. He said that the sole motive of organizing this interaction is to reduce the gap between decision makers and stakeholders so that policies are designed as per the needs of the farmers. Bhagwant Mann called upon the farmers to shun traditional methods of agriculture and adopt new ultra modern techniques for maximizing their profit adding that the state government will ensure fulsome support and cooperation to them.
The Chief Minister said that the state government is already pursuing the matter of providing Minimum Support Price (MSP) to the farmers on alternative crops with the Government of India. He said that this will help in supplementing the income of the farmers on one hand and weaning away the menace of stubble burning on the other. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government is also laying major thrust on the food processing sector and processing plants for Sugarcane, Leechi, Garlic, Kinnow and other fruits will soon be set up in the state.
The Chief Minister also said that the state government is also planning to boost the agro-industry in a big way. He said that Punjab produces 80% of the total Basmati produced in the country adding that this production will be further enhanced in the coming days. Bhagwant Mann said that this will further give fillip to the Basmati industry on one hand and supplement the income of farmers besides saving the precious natural resource in the form of water.
The Chief Minister gave a clarion call to the farmers to adopt Basmati cultivation across the state. He assured the farmers that the state government will make every effort to ensure that they do not suffer any sort of loss in cultivation of Basmati. Bhagwant Mann also said that every effort will be made to ensure that assured price is made available on Basmati cultivation.
The Chief Minister said that the state government is also mulling to enhance the cultivation by optimum utilization of the canal water. He said that the irrigation network across the state will be further spruced up to benefit the framers. Bhagwant Mann said that all out efforts will be made to ensure that water reaches even at the tail end villages.
The Chief Minister said that in a major pro-farmer initiative, no power cut was imposed in the state during the previous paddy season due to which farmers got uninterrupted and regular supply of power. He said that due to the efforts of his government the power generation in the state has been enhanced by 83%. Bhagwant Mann said that owing to strenuous efforts made by his government the supply of coal for power generation from Pachwara coal mine has resumed after a long time.
The Chief Minister said that as the state now has surplus coal with it, the Punjab government has also urged the Union government to give consent to coal supply to the private thermal plants. He said that the state government is providing corruption free governance to the people and several initiatives have been taken in every sector. Bhagwant Mann said that till now more than 9000 acres of land have been recovered from under the illegal occupation adding that this drive will continue in coming days too.
The Chief Minister further said that his government has broken the backbone of the sand mafia by bringing transparency in the sand mining. Bhagwant Mann said that 16 public mines have been dedicated to the masses thereby ensuring pit head price of sand to Rs 5.50 per cubic feet. He categorically said that the sand mafia that had flourished during the previous government regimes will no longer exploit the people.
The Chief Minister also reiterated the firm commitment of his government to make Punjab a ‘drug free state’. He said that the menace of drugs is being dealt with a heavy hand and a zero tolerance policy is being adopted against the drug peddlers. Bhagwant Mann said that sporting activity is being promoted in the state along with opening of new avenues of employment to channelize the unbounded energy of youth in a positive direction.
The Chief Minister also called upon the officers especially the deputy Commissioners and Additional Deputy Commissioners to maximize their field visits, especially in villages, and interactions with the people by going to villages. He said that it is the need of the hour to facilitate the people in getting their day-to-day works done easily besides ensuring good governance to them. Bhagwant Mann said that this will help in better functioning of the offices along with better acquaintance with the ground realities.
6116 FARMERS GIVEN ADVANCED DAIRY FARMING TRAINING THIS YEAR: in order to enable rural youth self-reliant through dairy occupation, Punjab Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, on Sunday, informed that around 6116 farmers have been given advanced dairy farming training this year under the Dairy Entrepreneurship Training Program, and the four-week long dairy entrepreneurship training program will be organised to impart technical skills to farmers aspiring to set up their own dairy farms from February 20 at nine dairy training & extension centers by the Dairy Development Department.
S. Laljit Singh Bhullar said that to make dairy farmers efficient dairy managers, this program will be started at Dairy Training and Extension Centers at Chitamali (district Ropar), Bija (district Ludhiana), Gill (district Moga), Phagwara (district Jalandhar), Abul Khurana (district Sri Muktsar Sahib), Verka (district Amritsar), Tarn Taran, Sardulgarh (district Mansa) and Sangrur, in which advanced training will be imparted to modernize existing dairy farming in a scientific manner.
The Cabinet Minister said that aspiring dairy farmer of age between 18 to 45 years and resident of rural area, who should have passed matric, having 10 dairy milch animals and land for green fodder cultivation, can appear for counselling on February 13, 2023 at the nearest dairy training and extension center with matric certificate, Aadhaar card and passport size photograph or contact concerned Deputy Director Dairy of their district. The prospectus can be obtained from the District Deputy Director Dairy Offices. He said that this program would impart training about the latest techniques of purchasing milch animals, their scientific keeping, feeding, breed improvement, artificial insemination, pregnancy check, year-round green fodder production, milk production, seasonal livestock diseases, domestic feed preparation and marketing etc.
He said that every year, the target of imparting training to 6600 farmers/youth under “Two Week Training Program” and 1000 farmers/youth under “4 Week Dairy Entrepreneurship Training Program” in these nine training centers has been fixed, and till date 21 batches of both the programs have been conducted, in which about 6116 farmers have given advanced training.
