Why Punjab Still Lacks a Farm Policy

Key Highlights & Summary

 • Policy Background & Delays: Punjab lacks a comprehensive agricultural policy despite being an agrarian state; the draft Punjab Agricultural Policy 2023, submitted by an 11-member committee under Sukhpal Singh, remains unimplemented. 

• Water Conservation & Crop Diversification: The draft policy targets an initial 30% reduction in water usage, restricts long-duration paddy varieties, halts paddy cultivation in critically stressed areas, and promotes alternatives to the traditional wheat-paddy monoculture. 

 • Financial Protection & Social Security: Key provisions include a one-time debt settlement scheme, debt-swapping, state-specific crop and livestock insurance, and a monthly pension post60 years for farm labourers and small farmers owning up to 5 acres. 

• Institutional & Market Strengthening: Recommends establishing 13 Centres of Excellence to position Punjab as a seed hub, strengthening 3,523 multi-purpose cooperative societies, modernising land-lease laws, and promoting organic farming and horticulture. 

• Legislative Endorsement for Phased Rollout: In March 2026, a Punjab Vidhan Sabha committee led by MLA Gurpreet Singh Banawali recommended a phased implementation strategy if immediate full deployment is unfeasible. 

• Implementation Challenges: Progress is stalled by severe state financial stress, lack of assured price support/procurement for alternative crops relative to wheat and paddy, and absent execution roadmaps. 

Essential Definitions 

• Crop Diversification: The practice of shifting from a high-water-consuming monoculture system (such as wheat-paddy) toward varied, ecologically suitable crops like pulses, oilseeds, and horticulture.

• Monoculture: The continuous agricultural practice of growing a single crop species repeatedly over the same land area, leading to soil depletion and groundwater degradation.

 • Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society: A village-level cooperative institution that provides farmers with credit facilities, quality seeds, fertilizers, and marketing assistance under unified management. 

Legal and Constitutional Framework

 • Entry 14, List II (State List), Seventh Schedule: Grants state legislatures exclusive competence over agriculture, including agricultural education, research, and protection against pests. 

• Entry 17, List II (State List), Seventh Schedule: Empowers states to legislate on water supplies, irrigation, canals, drainage, embankments, and water storage. 

• Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act, 2016 (NITI Aayog): Provides a legal template for states to formalize land leasing, safeguarding ownership rights while enabling tenant farmers to access institutional credit and insurance. 

Conclusion The non-implementation of Punjab\'s draft farm policy underlines the conflict between ecological imperatives and socio-economic realities. Transitioning away from paddy cultivation requires fiscal support, federal cooperation on procurement, and a definitive legislative roadmap to ensure sustainable ground-water management and agricultural stability. 

UPSC Relevance

 • GS Paper III: Indian Economy & Agriculture (Major cropping patterns, issues of buffer stocks and food security, farm subsidies, crop diversification, groundwater depletion, and cooperative sector reforms). 

• GS Paper II: Governance & Federalism (State-level policy formulation, Centre-State coordination in agricultural pricing, and public finance management).