Community nurseries or ‘Nursery Langars’ saved Punjab from massive crop losses caused by floods in 2023: PAU study
- August 26, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Community nurseries or ‘Nursery Langars’ saved Punjab from massive crop losses caused by floods in 2023: PAU study
Sub: Geo
Sec: Eco Geo
Context:
- Punjab was saved from incurring losses of Rs 2,800 crore due to community nurseries, known as “nursery langars”.
- Despite an additional expenditure of Rs 245 crore by farmers, the community nurseries helped achieve the average rice yield equivalent to 2022 levels.
Nursery Langars Initiative
- The “Nursery Langar” initiative, rooted in Sikh tradition, played a crucial role in saving flood-hit farmers by providing free paddy saplings.
- It provided free nurseries to farmers after floods damaged lands in 2023.
- Volunteers, entrepreneurs, and farmer groups raised nurseries, which were geo-tagged and made accessible to affected farmers through publicized contact information.
- Awareness camps and support from PAU, KVKs, and regional centers helped small and marginal farmers replant short-duration rice varieties like PR 126 and Pusa Basmati 1509.
Economic Impact and Success of the Initiative:
- Farmers incurred additional costs for re-transplantation, including labour, diesel, and weedicide expenses, totalling Rs 245 crore.
- Despite the floods, the average rice yield in Punjab increased by 4%, with the highest yield recorded in Malerkotla district.
- The success of the community nurseries demonstrates their effectiveness as a contingency plan to mitigate the impact of floods, highlighting the broader role they can play in addressing climatic challenges.
Source: DTE