North News
Chandigarh, November 19
Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said on Tuesday that the state witnessed a 1.4 quintal increase in average paddy yield per hectare this Kharif season. Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) conducted by the Agriculture Department reported a yield of 6878 kg per hectare for Kharif 2024, compared to 6740 kg in 2023. This includes both non-Basmati and Basmati varieties, with 97% of paddy harvesting completed.
Regarding wheat sowing, Khudian stated that 27 lakh hectares have been sown so far, representing 77% of the target area of 35 lakh hectares. The remaining sowing is expected to conclude by the end of the month.
On fertiliser availability, he assured farmers of sufficient resources for the Rabi season. Punjab currently has 4.20 LMT of Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and 0.55 LMT of alternative phosphatic fertilisers against a requirement of 4.82 LMT. An additional 10,000 MT of DAP has been requested, with 44,000 MT in transit to meet demand.
