Punjab Agricultural University Vice Chancellor B S Dhillon said there is a need to rationalise subsidy which should be given for promotion and conservation of natural resources.
"Subsidy is required but it should be for promotion and conservation of natural resources not for exploitation of natural resources. There is need for rationalisation of subsidy," Dhillon said while addressing a seminar on 'Challenges and strategies for Management of Water in Rural Areas of Punjab and Haryana'.
He said the subsidy must be given to the agricultural sector. "If you compare subsidy being given in Punjab, it is far less than what it is being given in other countries," he said.
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Asserting that the area needed to be curtailed under paddy, a water guzzling crop, PAU VC said the focus should be on growing crops like spring maize, sunflower and moong.
He was of the view that agriculture in Punjab had become water intensive due to shift to paddy cultivation and on account of Green Revolution.
He advised that by using technology like drip irrigation, mulching etc for water-saving to the tune of 10-20 per cent without affecting productivity.
Meanwhile, speaking on this occasion, P M Ghole, Chief General Manager, NABARD, Punjab, said before the retreat of southwest monsoon in September this year, NABARD plans to cover approx 3,300 villages out of approximately 12,000 villages in Punjab under its water conservation and management initiatives.
