Vipan Okara
Moga, October 6
Manjinder Singh is a 39-year-old progressive farmer from Gholian Kalan village in Moga District. Manjinder inherited the virtue of appreciating natural resources from his father Tarlochan Singh, who has a long experience of 55 years in agriculture. Concerned about the polluted environment, Manjinder has been earning loyalty to Mother Earth for the last 6 years by cultivating paddy straw in his own land instead of burning it. He says that If there is a mindset then no challenge can be posed to the farmer.
For the last two years, Manjinder Singh has been successfully cultivating wheat and potatoes on his 32 acres of land by harvesting his paddy crop from an SMS combine harvester and using tools like hydraulic discs, ploughs and rotavators as required. Guided by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Manjinder Singh also attends the farmer’s fairs of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.
While Manjinder has become a lighthouse for the farmers of the area due to the non-burning of straw for the last 6 years. Manjinder suggests that the cost of farm implements for straw management should be kept low so that the availability of these machines is maximized. Manjinder also urges other farmers that we should promise not to burn paddy straw to preserve the beautiful environment we have inherited.
Manjinder Singh says that when a farmer burns straw, it does a lot of damage to the fertility of the land. Crop friendly pests are eliminated. If this straw is plough in the field then it also gives higher crop yield.
'