Ludhiana, Nov 7: Credit is as essential and important as technology to enhance farm production and scale up income and economy.

''It is time that system for disbursing credit to farmers is simplified'', Punjab State Farmers Commission Chairman Dr G S Kalkat said while initiating panel discussion on 'Horticultural development in Northern India-changing Priorities' at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here today.

''Development has already bypassed farm sector and need of the hour is to bring small farmers into the main stream agriculture. Once this happens, diversification will automatically follow'', Dr Kalkat stated.

In fact the need to protect and preserve agriculture is imperative at this agricultural juncture, he opined.

Dr Kalkat called upon farm scientists and policy makers to focus on enabling the farmers to enhance their income which will itself help in diversification of agriculture. One way of enabling the farmers to harvest higher income is to adopt horticulture, he added.

Refering to fruit cultivation, he pointed out that since there was a lock-in-period of at least five to six years before farmers get returns, it would be in the interest of farmers to provide them interest free loan. The recovery should be effected only after returns start flowing in, that is when the trees start bearing fruit, he added.

Alongwith horticulture, dairying and bee keeping, net house vegetable growing and floriculture have the potential to enable the farmers get remunerative returns, provided government policies favoured them with assured price and procurement, he added.

Dr Kalkat further said that agri implementation programmes must focus on natural resources like water and its efficient use, on soil ferility and environment. Comparing yield potential of Punjab with rest of the country or even with developed countries, he stressed on the need to cut cost of production, so as to enhance incomes of farmers.

In his keynote address on policy and planning for horticulture development in sub tropical temperate regions of India, Vice-Chancellor of Dr Y S University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Dr Jagmohan Singh gave a power point presentation on status of temperate fruit productivity, production constraints, lack of quality planting material of improved varieties, heavy post-harvest lesson and fewer processing facilities in horticulture.

Dr Jagmohan Singh also talked of poor marketing infrastructure, need for rationalization of research, enrichment of genetic resources, quality plantation, production and prevention management, possible diversification, mechanization of hill horticulture and post-harvest management. Horticultural biotechnology must be an integral part of horticulture planning in the country, he added.

''To propagate knowledge and information about fruits, it is important to open farm schools for interface between scientists and farmers at the grass roots'', he added.

The one-day panel discussion was organized by Horticultural Society of India in collaboration with Horticultural Science Society of PAU.

President of the Horticultural Society Dr K L Chadha in his opening remarks said it is time that farmers and scientists are sensitized about the role of horticulture in increasing contribution to country's gross domestic product. All these endeavours would require technical support, government policy of price intervention, he added.

Dr Chadha, who is chairman of XI Plan Working Group of Horticulture, also spoke on the contraints that impede crop and fruit production.

UNI