Farmers look skyward for an end to misery
FARIDKOT: Delayed monsoon means delayed sowing. And, delayed sowing can only be translated into huge losses.
Paddy transplantation usually ends in June, but this year, the process is still on with about 10% area yet to be completed. But, in the areas where it has already been planted, the farmers are finding it hard to keep the water in the fields.
“I wanted to transplant paddy earlier, but my tubewell wasn’t working and I had to get a new tubewell installed. The problem is that the variety PR-118 that I am planting takes longer to mature and this may prove difficult for me to market it as it would mature at the end of the season,” said Dara Singh, a farmer from Sikanwala village.
“Early transplantation of paddy has led to huge expenses, as there has been no rain so far and the saplings are drying. The farmers have had to run generators to irrigate the crops, which is a costly affair at Rs 1,500 per day. Besides, at places where the transplantation was done by the migrant labour, the plants withered as the labour washed the roots of the saplings before transplanting,” said Jaswinder Singh, a farmer from Dhilwan Kalan.
Naib Singh, a farmer from Ghania village said: “In our area, about 10 to 15% transplantation is still left. Even the labour sits idle when we fail to fill the fields with water.”
“I want to transplant basmati in 8 acres, but I will have to wait till it rains. In case the monsoon is delayed, I would not be able to transplant basmati, as the already sown paddy crop needs frequent watering,” said Rupinder Singh, a farmer from Bargari.
Gurmeet Singh, a farmer from Kotkapura village, is also waiting for rainfall to transplant paddy on his three acres.
About the erratic power supply, Dara Singh said they have been getting an eight-hour supply since only two days.
“Though the transplantation work has been delayed, yet it won’t have much affect on the yield,” said Kaur Singh Dhillon, chief agriculture officer, Faridkot. But, delayed transplantation is good for groundwater, as the sub-soil water does not decline if the paddy is transplanted after June 20, he said.