The Punjab government’s Economic Survey 2024–25 warns that the state’s rice–wheat cropping pattern, coupled with free electricity, has led to severe groundwater depletion and rendered the model economically and ecologically unsustainable.
“This cropping system of Punjab is becoming economically and ecologically unviable given the deterioration of soil health, depletion of water table and squeezing of farm incomes as cost of cultivation increases,” the survey presented to the state assembly observes.
Out of the total area of 7.78 million hectare used for crop production in Punjab, 40.8% was used for paddy cultivation and 45.2% was used for wheat cultivation in the crop year 2023-24.
In 2023–24, paddy and wheat together occupied 86% of Punjab’s 7.78 million hectares under cultivation—40.8% for paddy and 45.2% for wheat. Yet yields for both cereals have stagnated.
Despite covering just 6.5% of India’s cultivable area, Punjab produced nearly 15% of the country’s wheat and 9.57% of its rice in 2022–23, supplying over one‑third of central pool rice and nearly half of wheat procurement.
To break this cycle, the survey advocates diversification. “Oilseeds and pulses, which have adequate demand deficit in the country, could offer one avenue for crop diversification,” it notes. This follows the government’s decision to guarantee MSP purchases of pulses, oilseeds, maize and cotton nationwide for the next five years.
Punjab’s cropping intensity has reached near saturation—191.7% in 2022–23 versus the national average of 155.9%—and fertiliser use soared to 247.6 kg per hectare in 2023–24, 1.67 times the all‑India average.
To curb groundwater over‑extraction fuelled by subsidised power, the state has launched a pilot direct benefit transfer scheme across six agricultural feeder zones. Under the programme, each farmer receives a fixed electricity allocation. “If the farmer consumes less than the fixed allocation, he/she receives a financial benefit for electricity not consumed,” the survey explains.