Conservation Agriculture in Punjab - Economic Implications of Technologies and Practices

Abstract

Modern agriculture based on high yielding seeds, chemical using production and protection technologies and intensive use of natural resources paid rich dividends by bringing manifold increase in foodgrain productivity and production, enhancing farmers’ income, reducing poverty and contributing significantly towards attainment of food self-sufficiency at the national level (Sidhu and Bhullar, 2005; Joshi, 2004; Government of India, 2006). Due to their positive impacts and institutional policy support in the form of prices, credit and input delivery, these technologies were fast and widely adopted by the farmers. However, in recent years the negative consequences of such strategies are becoming more evident in the Punjab state and have started overshadowing their economic as well as non-economic benefits. The serious fallout of this strategy is witnessed in the form of over-exploitation of groundwater resources causing faster depletion in the groundwater table and degradation of the Punjab soils due to mining of macro as well as micro nutrients (Sidhu, 2002). Even the physical properties of soils have undergone change. Rice crop is cited as the main culprit for most of the water woes in Punjab agriculture due to its huge water requirement (Sidhu, 2002; Government of Punjab, 2007; Johl, 2002). The groundwater table in central districts of the state has gone down at an annual rate of more than 80 cm during 1997 to 2007. There has been a development of hard pan in the soils, which have continuously been put under rice cultivation under nursery planting practices, preventing percolation (and hence recharge) of rain water into deeper layers and altering the physical properties of soil as well. Even the South-western districts of the state, popularly known as the cotton belt of Punjab, have experienced fall in water table due to shift of area from cotton to rice due to significant fall in cotton productivity from 1996-97 to 2002-03, owing to the increased incidence of insect-pest attack (Government of Punjab, 2007, 2009). Ricewheat monoculture, coupled with high humidity levels, has led to increased incidence of diseases and insect-pest attack, consequently necessitating higher use of chemicals