India, Oct. 6 -- It is high time that the policymaking in the country is geared towards sustainable and profitable agriculture. The need of this is the most in Punjab-Haryana belt where entrenched rice cultivation is causing ecological disaster. The peasants of Punjab and Haryana have done a yeoman's job in feeding the country and it is obligatory on the part of the state as well as the centre to steer them towards crops that are less damaging to environment and yet are more profitable than paddy.

This requires innovative policy solutions. One of such policy innovation is suggested in this policy brief, where farmers shifting from paddy to pulses, oilseeds, millets, and even kharif maize can be given roughly Rs.35,000/ha on 50:50 basis u...