Farmers across district motivated to adopt ridge seeding technique for paddy sowing for conservation of depleting underground water

Ludhiana, April 19, 2022: For conservation of depleting underground water table, Deputy Commissioner Ludhiana Surabhi Malik today urged all the farmers of state to adopt ridge seeding technique for sowing of paddy instead of conventional method of flooding. She said that it would not only save lakhs of litres of water, but would also help in increasing the yield and reducing input cost.
 
Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik said that through this technique of ridge farming, direct paddy transplantation is done on the ridges without needing to puddle the entire fields. This technique significantly reduces the amount of water required for paddy cultivation besides doing away with stubble burning practices, she said, adding that it also harnesses the yield.

She said that through the Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Department Punjab, special screens have been set up in several mandis of district Ludhiana, where this technique is demonstrated through a special video and the farmers are motivated to adopt it. She said that the aim behind demonstrating these techniques at grain markets is to sensitize farmers to emulate the path of progressive farmers, thereby contributing towards water conservation and environment protection.

She said that Prime Minister Awardee Progressive Farmer Surjeet Singh of village Sadhugarh in District Fatehgarh Sahib has been successfully using this technique for the last several years.
 
She said that several development blocks of the state have been categorized as dark zones with respect to ground water usage. Hence, it was the need of the hour to take serious strides towards water conservation through these practices.
 
She directed the officials of the agriculture department to guide and motivate farmers through extensive awareness campaigns. DC Surabhi Malik said that district administration is working hard for the welfare of the farmers and to converse the natural resources. She said that the committed team of agriculture department was working continuously for the betterment of the farmers.

Divisional Commissioner Chander Gaind appreciated this initiative of District Administration Ludhiana, that would help in encouraging the farmers to adopt this technique.