Punjab needs urgent policy measures to ensure long-term sustainability, healthier agriculture, economic viability and social equity in the farm sector, considering the agrarian crisis faced by the State, Sukhpal Singh, Chairman, Punjab State Farmers’ and Farm Workers’ Commission has said.
He highlighted Punjab’s critical dependence on wheat–paddy monoculture despite severe groundwater depletion, with 98 per cent of cultivated land irrigated and cropping intensity exceeding 189 per cent. Excessive input use 245 kg/ha of fertilisers compared to the national average of 130 kg/ha has led to ecological stress, he said while delivering a lecture on Punjab State Agricultural Policy with special emphasis on production cooperatives in Kozhikode.
Sukhpal Singh was invited to speak at the function to celebrate the memories of the stalwart cooperative leader late VS Achuthanandan, former Kerala Chief Minister.
The situation in Punjab, according to him, is aggravated by a decline in agriculture’s share in GSVA from over 60 per cent in 1970s to just around 28 per cent recently, alongside rising indebtedness, low profitability and increasing farmer suicides.
There has been a shift in land use and cropping patterns, with the area under wheat increasing from 39 to 43 per cent, and rice from 6 to 47 per cent, during the period from 1960–61 to 2021–22. Besides, 60-90 per cent of farmers are reported to be in debt with smallholders being the most vulnerable despite receiving minimal subsidies, he said.
He proposed major interventions which included phased ban on long-duration paddy varieties and shifting 15 critically stressed blocks to alternative crops (maize, cotton, sugarcane, vegetables, orchards) with compensation.
He also advocated for crop diversification strategy emphasising Basmati in NGA-aroma, cotton revival in mission mode, maize, pluses, oilseeds and strengthening fruit and vegetable value chains, including Kinnow processing, seed clusters and certified organic farming.
The Commission is expected to outline a comprehensive, research-backed and Farmer-cooperative-centric roadmap to transform Punjab from a monoculture-dependent economy into a resilient, diversified and water-conscious agrarian system.
The organisation committee also hoped that the proposed recommendation would be implemented by the Punjab government soon for the larger interest of the farmers of the state.
Published on November 27, 2025
