'Panchayats, blocks should help crop rotation scheme succeed'

New Delhi, Mar 7. The new scheme to spread crop diversification in the country will succeed only if panchayat and block level officials take keen interest in implementing it, a senior Agriculture Ministry official said today. In the Budget 2013-14, the government has proposed to allocate Rs 500 crore under a new crop diversification scheme in states such as Punjab and Haryana, which were covered under the Green Revolution. "Diversification in agriculture sector can succeed only if the responsibility is taken by Zilla Parishad and even below that," said Sanjeev Chopra, Joint Secretary in the Agriculture Ministry at a CII event. The cost of implementation of crop diversification below the panchayat level is much less vis-a-vis state and central level, he said. Chopra, who heads the National Horticulture Mission, said the details of the new scheme announced in the Budget are being worked out and it will be implemented in states where crop yields have stagnated due to mono-cropping. He said that farmers' income can be raised if they are encouraged to switch from traditional rice/wheat to high-value horticultural crops.