📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Kamran sardar
Agriculture
Punjab’s Crop Diversification Plan Falters as Rice Covers 92% of Farm Land
✍️ The Indian Express
🗓 29 Aug 2026, 08:33 PM
👁 4
A state‑wide effort to shift Punjab’s agriculture away from rice has stalled, with the grain now occupying 92% of cultivated area.
The Punjab government’s long‑standing programme to encourage farmers to grow a broader mix of crops has not delivered its intended results. Despite policy incentives and outreach, the share of rice in the state’s agricultural basket remains overwhelmingly high.
Official data show that rice now accounts for roughly 92% of the area under cultivation, underscoring the limited uptake of alternative cereals, pulses or oilseeds. The persistence of a near‑monoculture reflects entrenched market preferences and the continued availability of subsidies that favour water‑intensive paddy farming.
Agricultural analysts warn that such concentration poses risks to soil health, water resources and farmer incomes, especially in a region already grappling with groundwater depletion. The state is expected to revisit its diversification strategy, but concrete policy shifts have yet to be announced.
Official data show that rice now accounts for roughly 92% of the area under cultivation, underscoring the limited uptake of alternative cereals, pulses or oilseeds. The persistence of a near‑monoculture reflects entrenched market preferences and the continued availability of subsidies that favour water‑intensive paddy farming.
Agricultural analysts warn that such concentration poses risks to soil health, water resources and farmer incomes, especially in a region already grappling with groundwater depletion. The state is expected to revisit its diversification strategy, but concrete policy shifts have yet to be announced.