Bilaspur: Farmers in the district are now diversifying their crops beyond paddy and achieving favourable yields with crops like wheat, flax, lentils, and moong. The Agriculture Department’s TRFA scheme is providing subsidies for seeds to encourage farmers to cultivate these alternative crops, which require less water and incur lower costs, ultimately leading to increased profits.
Rajesh Yadav, a farmer from Siltara village in the Takhatpur development block, embraced this initiative and transitioned from cultivating paddy to sowing a mixture of wheat and lentils. Yadav stated that he owns a 1.5-acre agricultural land where he used to cultivate paddy. Paddy crops demanded excessive water during the summer season, negatively impacting the yield. With the guidance of the Rural Agricultural Extension Officer, Kriti Kala, he learned about the cultivation of other crops like wheat, mung, lentils, and corn, which could be grown with less water and at lower expenses. The Agriculture Department provided a 50 per cent subsidy on wheat seeds and gave lentil seeds for demonstration purposes.
Inspired by the information and success stories, Yadav decided to sow a mixture of wheat and lentils. The result was a successful harvest with minimal water usage, prompting other farmers to follow suit and adopt mixed cropping practices. He expressed his gratitude to the Agriculture Department for the scheme.
