The Punjab government will offer 40 to 50 per cent subsidy to paddy growers on the purchase of paddy transplanters, an official said Tuesday.
"In order to encourage farmers towards mechanised paddy transplantation, the Punjab government has come up with a comprehensive plan to provide paddy transplanters with 40-50 percent subsidy, which will certainly ease out the labour problem being faced by the farmers in peak season," said Punjab agriculture secretary K S Pannu in an official release here.
The agriculture department has sought applications from farmers interested in getting subsidised paddy transplanters till January 20, so that appropriate steps could be taken for booking machines in view of forthcoming season in the month of June and July.
Pannu said Punjab had already taken a lead in mechanised farming of all crops except the sowing of paddy and harvesting of sugarcane, which was still operated manually.
Punjab was facing an acute shortage of labour for the past few years due to constant decline in manpower from other parts of the country, which earlier came to the state during paddy transplantation.
Therefore, the state government has taken conscientious decision to popularise the concept of mechanised paddy transplantation, under which the farmers avail subsidised paddy transplanters, he said.