India, May 8 -- Apropos the HT article 'Beyond the grain: Punjab needs new Green Revolution' (May 3), it is time to move away from narratives that unfairly malign Punjab's agriculture and its hardworking farmers. The real conversation must focus on the government's persistent failure to effectively tackle the sustainability and environmental challenges facing the state's agricultural system.

For decades, Punjab has been viewed through the narrow lens of the rice-wheat cycle, sustained by MSP and procurement. But this image is outdated. On the ground, farmers are already experimenting. A distinct model of diversification is emerging, clustered around crop suitability and market access: Kinnow belts in the south-west; potato and sugarcane ...