Pampore: Farmers of Patalbagh village in Pampore area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district have appealed to authorities for preservation of paddy land.
The farmers also demanded modern machinery for harvesting and post harvesting management of paddy.
Talking to Kashmir Reader, a progressive farmer of Patalbagh and member of Kisan Advisory Board (KAB), Irshad Ahmad said that rice is the staple food of people of Kashmir.
“We eat rice twice a day, we won’t think of any alternative to rice,” he said, adding that in Pulwama district around 16000 hectares of land is under paddy cultivation.
The farmers appealed to authorities for protecting this paddy land from being converted to other uses.
” Agriculture sector is the only industry which registered 3 percent growth even during COVID induced knockdown,” they said, adding that their progress depends on preservation of paddy land.
The farmers told Kashmir Reader that in the coming days there will be food inflation and that farmers should be able to produce paddy indigenously.
The farmers also appealed Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Principal Secretary for providing them machines for harvesting of paddy.
” New machinery which will save labour costs should be given to farmers at subsidy through panchayats,” they said.
The Progressive farmer Irshad Ahmad Dar also appreciated SKUAST Kashmir scientists for providing them SR4 variety of rice which yielded 520 kg per Kanal without any chemical spray.
He hoped that the scientists will make new high yielding varieties in the coming days.

BILAL HABIB