ALTERNATIVE RESOURCES CONSERVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE : IMPACT ANALYSIS OF ZERO – TILLAGE TECHNOLOGY IN PUNJAB

Need is being felt to explore the possibilities of saving critical inputs by adopting alternative resources conservative technologies in agriculture as zero tillage and bed planting etc. Main aim of this paper was to see the impact of zero tillage technology in rice wheat system. Zero tillage/ no tillage refer to planting of various crops with minimum of soil disturbance. Recently this technology has been recommended to farmers in Punjab to conserve water, save fuel, ensure timely sowing and to reduce drudgery of work. Consequent upon good response from farmers, area under zero till wheat has increased from merely 750 hectares in 2000-01 to over 2 lakh hectares in 2008-09. Economic analysis of the data presented in this paper shows that zero tillage method for wheat cultivation is economical and attractive option for farming community. The high yield grain and less cost of production per hectare were noted on zero tillage farms as compared with conventional farms. The estimates of regression analysis show that zero tillage could increase income of the farmers substantially. Finally, the adoption of zero tillage technology improves farmer’s profit, improves his livelihood and eventually reduces poverty. Unawareness about the technology, management of standing stubbles of paddy crop and deep sowing of seed were mentioned as some of the hindering factors in the fast adoption of this technology on farmers’ field. The various policy measures in this regard include extension of technical know-how of zero till technology, conducting field trials, giving a new package of practice to the farmers and providing easy access to zero till drill, either at subsidized seed drill price or through custom hiring by the co-operative societies/state agriculture department.