Economic Times

Economic Times
CHANDIGARH: Noting that Agriculture in Punjab was under "deep crisis", a Non Government Organisation on Monday, said that economical, environmental, health and social are the four major concerns associated with this sector in the border state.
At a state-level workshop on organic farming organised by 'Kheti Virasat and Nabha Foundation', the NGO's director Surinder Singh noted that "in order to provide food security to the country, we have ruined our natural resources."
At present more than 109 blocks in Punjab are over exploited for water, he said adding that Punjab's soil had very low level of organic matter as most of the micro-nutrients were not available in it. He said that a sum of rs 27,000 crore of agriculture debt was on the heads of Punjab's farmers. "More than 13,000 farmers have committed suicides in Punjab," he said while quoting the figure of states farmers commission. He said that the prime reason for suicides was that input cost had been increased for the last 5 to ten years and returns were not enough. Speaking on the occasion, All India People Science Network executive member K Ashok Rao said that an important mechanism for the protection of domestic agriculture was Qualitative Restrictions. "This means that the nation has the right to just not allow imports if it hurts their farmers," he said. He said that subsidies were major problems as in countries like India the World Bank trained economists never tire of expressing concern about non-merits of subsidies.