Water Table Depletion in Moga
With the Chennai water crisis receiving much coverage in the news recently, Punjab’s Moga district is also following a similar vane. The shortages in water are mostly due to the slow water recharging process and water table depletion at the rate of one meter per year, as per official records.
Government officials have made concerted efforts to dissuade farmers in Punjab’s Moga district from sowing paddy in their fields. However, unfortunately, this has not materialised and groundwater levels continue to be depleted with an impending water crisis in sight.
At KDOP, we feel its important to stress that although in the past successive governments and their official representatives have done very little to mitigate against the issues facing Punjab’s agriculture industry, it is imperative that when guidance is provided, it should be discussed in a sensible manner and wherever possible, adhered to.
What are the facts and figures?
Despite the Punjab Governments campaigning against it, paddy will be sown in 93% of 1.94 lakh hectares of cultivable land. Only 2,700 hectares of land will be utilised to cultivate non-paddy crops in the district this year.
What needs to be done?
Agriculture officers need to educate and re-educate farmers on the current issues facing the industry and show them in practical terms, the benefits of sowing non-paddy crops.
They should be made to understand that water-guzzling crops that bring in revenue today will negate the possibility of growing any type of crop in the future. It makes greater sense to plan for tomorrow, today, rather than feed our families today with perhaps having no provisions left for the foreseeable future.
It is unfortunate that only two percent of land under paddy cultivation was likely to be irrigated through Sirhind feeder and Abohar canal. The majority of water would be drawn from tube wells, said an agriculture department official.
In a majority of villages, their appears to be a vicious cycle of depleting groundwater, leading to farmers digging deeper to extract water from beneath and further depletion of water levels.
More empty promises!
It is perhaps not surprising that farmers have continued in their old ways of sowing paddy in their fields. This is especially true when no sincere efforts have been taken to assist the farmers to switch over to other crops. It should be mentioned here that there is a huge price gap between paddy and maize and this needs to be filled appropriately!
Government officials and the bodies they represent need to realise that financial issues, although at the forefront of any decision to sow any particular crop, are not the only point to consider. Different crops have disparate needs and this is true from initial sowing of the crop to harvesting. For example maize cultivation requires the availability of dryers. If there are none in the region then crops deteriorate, Government purchase does not materialise and farmers are forced to trade at much lower prices. It is a loss loss situation for the farmers and there is no reconciliation. The farmers are bullied to their detriment. This is unacceptable by any means.
