Facing dearth of manpower, farmers opt for machines to sow paddy
AMRITSAR As the footfall of migrant farm labourers is going down every year, farmers face lack of manpower and are hence, opting machines to sow paddy.
Earlier, paddy transplantation depended completely on migrant labourers from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and even Nepal.
Now, owing to the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) launched by the UPA-1 and efforts of respective state governments to reduce unemployment, the economy of these states has witnessed sizeable improvement and fewer people are shifting base.
However, this has affected Punjab’s farming which had totally been commercialised after the green revolution, and cultivation on such a large scale is impossible without the help of manpower.
As soon as the season for paddy transplantation starts, the growers gather at railway stations where the migrant labourers reach by train. However, nowadays, majority farmers are left empty-handed and are facing difficulty in finding labourers.
Some farmers blamed the date-bound paddy sowing for lesser availability of migrant labourers. Before the implementation of date-bound system, the season got prolonged and the labourers could earn more. But now, the paddy sowing is banned before mid of June as measures of preventing ground water depletion.
As per data assessed by HT from the Punjab agriculture department, machines are used on 1,500 to 2,000 hectare area every year and the usage is increasing by 1% in Amritsar district.
The farmers mainly use Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) machine which does not need transplantation of paddy. For transplantation, there are some Japan-made machines, but these are very costly and majority of farmers cannot afford them. Still, some big landlords are successfully transplanting paddy through these machines in Amritsar district.
“With decline in the arrival of the migrant labourers, some farmers have started sowing paddy with machines but it too proves difficult for them technically,” said Jasbir Singh Mehtia, a farmer from Khadoor Sahib in Tarn Taran district.
Dalbir Singh Chhina, chief agriculture officer, said they are warning the farmers that availability of labour would further decrease in the coming years and it would be good for them if they shifted to modern methods in time.
“For this, the department also gives a handsome subsidy on the DSR machines,” he said.
He added that with machinery, attention needs to be given to timing, state of soil, irrigation and spray of the chemicals. “Farmer needs to get advice of agri experts and the department is always available to help,” he said.
Two farmers, Jagjit Singh and Kashmir Singh of Loharka village, already using the Japanese machinery said, “We have purchased this machine this year and so far, are sowing the crop successfully with the help of experts.”
Agriculture development officer Gurdeep Singh said, “Mechanised crop sowing is the need of the hour and paddy growers are showing interest in it but they must change mind set accordingly as this method needs tactics.”
THE FARMERS MAINLY USE DIRECT SEEDING OF RICE MACHINE WHICH DOESN’T NEED PADDY TRANSPLANTATION. FOR TRANSPLANTATION, THERE ARE JAPANMADE MACHINES, BUT THEY ARE COSTLY AND MAJORITY OF FARMERS CANNOT AFFORD THEM