Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 11 Aug: Dehradun district administration has intensified preparations to implement the AgriStack scheme under the Digital Agriculture Mission with a focus on achieving self-reliance in pulses. District Magistrate Dr Ashish Chauhan, today, held a meeting to review the progress of the scheme at the Collectorate and he directed the officials to immediately identify the clusters under microplanning to expand the cultivation and yield of arhar (pigeon pea), urad and masoor (red lentil) in the district.
Cbauhan emphasised on the need to digitise farmers’ land and crop data to make agricultural services transparent and efficient. He instructed that the farmers be provided with improved seed distribution network, seed production facilities and training in modern techniques to increase the acreage and yield of the pulses in the district. To accelerate the production, he called for inter-cropping and greater utilisation of barren land, encouraging farmers to grow pulses in vacant spaces between sugarcane rows and to prepare unused land for pulse cultivation. He said that the pulses should be integrated into the traditional paddy–wheat cycle, which would enhance soil fertility and provide farmers with better yields and higher returns.
Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) Dehradun, Devendra Rana shared the current figures and the future targets during the meeting. He reported that urad (black lentil) is presently cultivated on 470 hectares with a yield of 274 metric tonnes, which is targeted to rise to 754 hectares and 765 metric tonnes by 2030–31. He also informed that Arhar (Pigeon-pea) is currently grown on 286 hectares with 367 metric tonnes of output, with plans to expand to 457 hectares and 686 metric tonnes. Masoor (red lentil) is cultivated on 242 hectares producing 146 metric tonnes, with the target set at 427 hectares and 453 metric tonnes.
Among those present during the meeting were ADM (Administration) Smrita Parmar, Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) Devendra Rana, Chief Horticulture Officer (CHO) DK Tiwari and other officials through virtual mode. It was reiterated at the meeting that the district administration has set the ambitious goal of tripling pulse production by 2030–31, with AgriStack providing the digital backbone for monitoring land and crop information.
