Punjab farmers to sustain paddy growing despite labour shortage

AHMEDABAD: Despite labour shortage , Punjab is expected to sustain paddy growing say agri economist. It is estimated that an area of around 27 lakh hectare will be put under paddy this season which is a major kharif crop of the state, Punjab Agricultural University, department of Economics and Sociology head, Dr M.S. Sidhu, said that the farmers, especially in the kharif season, largely depend upon the migratory labour hailing from states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. "To cope with the labour shortage, several steps at the level of government and the university have been taken.

The University has held programmes on the generation and the popularization of mechanized transplanting of paddy, organizing trainings to farmers on the technique of raising mat type paddy nursery, and the use of paddy transplanters. The government has launched programmes of making available subsidies, implementing law to discourage early transplanting of paddy, etc,"he said. Dr. Sidhu added that the legal steps to ban the transplanting of paddy before June 10 have been followed by farmers and that it has generated a favourable impact in minimizing the rate of underground water table depletion, especially in the central Punjab.

Tracing back, Dr. Sidhu said that in the year 1978-79, the migratory labour to the tune of 2.19 lakh came to Punjab and added that the recent surveys of 2006-07 indicated its number as 4.21 lakh. "The migratory labour undertook all the operations such as sowing nursery, field preparation, puddling, transplanting, undertaking plant protection measures, harvesting and marketing.

However, the recent scenario of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme popularly known as MGNAREGA has offered them employment in their own states. Under this scheme, 100 days employment is assured to one adult member in each rural household in a year. Besides, fast economic development has taken place in the states like Bihar during the last about six years. This led to the creation of employment and overall well being of the rural society in these states," said Dr Sidhu who added that this has resulted in a significant decline in the migratory labour that affects the agricultural operations in Punjab.

Keeping in view the shortage of migrant agriculture labour in Punjab, the local labour has also joined operation of transplanting of paddy. Besides, marginal and small farmer households are themselves involved themselves in this operation, which has resulted in a substantial economic saving to them. In spite of the shortage of migrant labour, the transplanting of paddy will complete within the next one month or so, said Dr. Sidhu.