Moga (Punjab) [India], November 27 : Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited Ransih Kalan village in Moga district on Thursday, where he praised Punjab's farming community for setting "new records" in public participation and agricultural innovation, especially in reducing stubble burning.
Chouhan began his one-day tour by offering prayers at a local gurdwara before heading to the fields to review farming practices with officials from the Agriculture Ministry. The minister interacted with farmers to understand their methods of direct seeding, reduced fertiliser use, and stubble management.
Calling Punjab "amazing," Chouhan said, "New records of public participation have been made in the Panchayat here... I am grateful to the people of Punjab. We feel as if we have come home."
During the visit, the minister shared the traditional Punjabi meal with villagers, seated on a cot alongside panchayat members and residents. "After eating the traditional 'makke di roti aur sarso da saag', my heart is full, and I am feeling very good," he told ANI.
Chouhan highlighted the village's six-year streak of avoiding stubble burning altogether, crediting the farmers for protecting soil health and reducing pollution. "Stubble burning has created problems across the whole country. By burning the stubble, we also kill necessary microbes in the soil and pollution increases," he said. "This village has not burnt stubble for the last six years. They mix it in the soil and do direct seeding. I am here to congratulate Ransih Kalan and their Sarpanch for this achievement. I want to show this to all of India."
The minister cited government data showing an 83% drop in stubble-burning cases in Punjab and urged farmers nationwide to follow the state's example.
Local farmer Gopal Singh told Chouhan that the village has significantly reduced its fertiliser use without affecting yields. "We used to use one and a half sacks of DAP per acre. Now we use just one sack, and the productivity has not changed," Singh said. Chouhan added that urea usage has similarly dropped from three sacks to two without any loss in output.
Appealing to farmers across the country, Chouhan said, "Learn from Punjab farmers and reduce the usage of artificial fertilisers, diesel, DAP, urea and stubble burning without decreasing productivity. Using the Happy Seeder keeps weeds away, cuts water use, and improves soil health."
Emphasising sustainable agriculture, he noted, "Stubble can be used as manure without hindering productivity, and I want to give this message to all of India from Ransih Kalan village."