Save Punjab from desertification — agronomist SS Johl
93-year-old Dr Johl explains why Punjab has been in an agrarian crisis for years, and how the lives of its stressed farmers can be made easier.
Dated : 18 Jan 2021 (IST)
If Punjab’s march towards desertification is to be stopped, the best way is to move the cultivation of wheat and paddy out to 50 lakh hectares of land in the Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, according to Dr Sardara Singh Johl, one of the most prominent agricultural economists in India.
In an interview to News Agency, Dr Johl, who turns 93 next month, spoke about a wide range of issues related to agriculture in Punjab, especially the agrarian crisis prevalent in the state for the last decade or so.
Johl, a Padma Bhushan awardee, is currently the first chancellor of the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, and has also been recognised by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research as a professor of eminence in economics. The alumnus of Panjab University has previously served as vice-chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala, and Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.
He has also been chairman of the Government of India’s Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, a member of the Economic Advisory Council for four prime ministers, and also held the posts of director, Central Governing Board, Reserve Bank of India, and vice-chairman, Punjab State Planning Board, among others. He was also president of the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Economics Research Association and Indian Society for Agricultural Marketing.
Among his many contributions on the global stage, Johl served as a consultant to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, World Bank and Economic Commission for West Asia in many countries.
While Johl stated he has “no views” on the three farm Acts, he did talk in detail about the problems affecting agriculture in Punjab, and how it can return to prosperity.
