CHANDIGARH, July 6 -- Even as Haryana government paid Rs.247 crore as incentive to around 1.22 lakh farmers in last five years to promote water-saving direct seeded rice (DSR) technique, the drive missed targets as paddy was cultivated on about 6 lakh-acre against the state's target of 10 lakh acre, according to official data. Despite this guarded response from the cultivators to Haryana's DSR push, the state agriculture department has set the target of bringing 5-lakh acres under the DSR this year. In 2025 against the target of 4 lakh acre, 31,605 farmers cultivated paddy with the DSR method on only 1.74 lakh acre, while in 2024 the target was 3 lakh acre and DSR was adopted on about 1.56 lakh acre by 27,378 farmers, the agriculture department's DSR data, that undergoes three-layers of verification before payments are released, shows. Haryana government gives Rs.4,500 incentive per acre to farmers opting for the DSR and Rs.8,000 per acre for not growing paddy. From this fiscal, the government is also giving Rs.2,000 per acre bonus if a farmer cultivates pulses in place of paddy. A subsidy of Rs.40,000 on DSR machines is also given. To promote the DSR, the government's annual budget has increased from Rs.10 crore in 2021 to Rs.180 crore in 2025. Agriculture minister Shyam Singh Rana says that the DSR technique is very effective to conserve groundwater while reducing the cost of paddy cultivation. "Recognising its benefits, chief minister Nayab Singh Saini increased the incentive for farmers adopting DSR from Rs.4,000 to Rs.4,500 per acre to promote this technique," Rana said, urging farmers to adopt DSR and experience its economic and environmental benefits. While farmers' opinion is divided over the pleas of the agriculture minister to adopt DSR, the agricultural experts say Haryana has now crossed the experimental phase of DSR. The challenge is not about proving the technology, but convincing farmers that it can consistently perform under varying field conditions. A section of agriculturists blame issues such as weed management, dependence on timely monsoon and limited varieties for their reluctance to opt for DSR. Chavvi Prakash, a state level award-winning farmer from Yamunanagar, says that DSR has the potential to replace conventional transplanting. "But the biggest challenge in DSR is how to deal with uncontrolled weeds," he says, adding that it took him four years to match yield under DSR with the traditional paddy cultivation method. On the other hand, farmers like Gurjit Singh Mann of Ellenabad in Sirsa district, who earlier cultivated cotton, says DSR is a "saviour" and a game changer. He said farmers with limited irrigation facilities are shifting towards DSR. "Declining cotton acreage has also nudged growers to adopt the DSR ways of growing rice," he said. Jatin Singh, a young farmer of Yamunanagar's Radaur, says that he had adopted the DSR technique on around 12 acres in the last three years. "But this year we missed the deadline due to weather related issues...DSR needs regular monitoring for weed control," he cautioned. Explaining why many farmers are still hesitant to adopt DSR, Wazir Singh, deputy director agriculture said the technique requires closer field management than the conventional puddled transplanting method, particularly during the initial stages. "Weed is the biggest challenge in DSR. It can be effectively managed through timely pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicide sprays applied at recommended stages," he said. Prof BR Kamboj, vice-chancellor of Chaudhary Charan Singh (CCS) Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), said the DSR technology represents a paradigm shift from conventional puddled transplanted rice. "The recommendations of CCS HAU are capable of producing yields at par with or even better than transplanted rice. It also helps in increasing productivity of the next crop," he said. Asked about the weed issue, Kamboj said the problem largely originated from the early practice of sowing DSR in rows using zero-till seed drills. He said the spaces between rows allowed greater air movement, which led to weed growth. "The researchers found that a step planter, which also maintains a fixed gap between the plants helps seeding significantly and reduces weed problems. We are now promoting the step planter machines, which will soon be made available to farmers," the VC said. Prof Virender Singh Lather, former principal scientist at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute New Delhi, who himself has shifted to DSR, says the government should increase incentive and enforce the Haryana Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009. "DSR saves nearly one-third of groundwater, reduces cultivation costs, labour, energy use and methane emissions, while delivering yields comparable to the conventional transplanted rice system," Lather said....