Haryana: Farmers in 7 paddy-growing districts agree to switch to maize under govt scheme to save groundwater

FARMERS IN seven major paddy-growing districts of Haryana have agreed to opt for maize and other alternatives after the Manohar Lal Khattar-led state BJPgovernment offered major incentives for crop diversification in an attempt to address the rapidly falling groundwater levels in the state.
According to the state Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, the farmers have formally registered for alternative plantations over 40,000 hectares of land. “It’s a matter of happiness that the farmers have sown maize and alternative crops keeping in view the crisis of groundwater,” Khattar said Monday.
After it emerged that the groundwater level has depleted in 76% area of the state, Khattar had in May launched a pilot scheme ‘Jal Hi Jiwan’. The objective of the scheme is to replace paddy with maize in seven major paddy-growing districts: Ambala, Yamuna Nagar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Karnal and Sonipat.

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