Chandigarh: To provide the state farmers with the latest technology for effective crop residue management (CRM), the Punjab agriculture department has sanctioned as many as 21,958 CRM machines.
The farmers have already procured 14,587 machines so far this year, bringing the total to over 1.45 lakh machines since 2018.
Punjab agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said 620 customer hiring centres (CHCs) have also been established across the state so far to facilitate small and marginal farmers “in accessing CRM machinery for effective crop residue management post-paddy harvesting”.
Khudian said the state has witnessed a 68% decline in stubble burning incidents as of Nov 3 this year.
A total of 4,132 farm fires have been reported, compared to 12,813 during the same period last year.
During the current year, the super seeder machine, with 9,010 units procured, is the most popular among the CRM machines, the minister said.
It is followed by the Zero Till Drill (1,383), RMB Plough (627), Baler (595) and Rake (590). tnn