The Land of Plenty
Punjab continues to be the bread basket of the country and the state government hopes its infrastructure push can help its farmers become free of debt
These days, Punjab’s farmers are in a burning hurry. They have to clear their fields of paddy stubble to prepare for the sowing of their rabi crops. A delay at this time is something they can ill afford—winter is setting in, and this is when they must till their farms. Their fields, which make up about 3 per cent of the country’s land, produce about 19 per cent of the nation’s wheat and 12 per cent of its paddy. Though many criticise these farmers for their methods—stubble burning most certainly does cause pollution and fill the region’s air with persistent smog—that does not change their contribution to India’s food supply. Every hectare of Punjab’s fertile farms contributes about 52 quintals of wheat and nearly 45 quintals of rice.
Though there are some stretches of the state where cash crops like cotton, sugarcane and maize are grown, such crops form only about 15 per cent of the state’s total agricultural yield.
Recently, the cotton belt in the state’s Malwa region saw surge in production levels after years of slackening output, a
result of crop pests like whiteflies and fungus, along with (an alleged) supply of spurious seeds and fertilisers in the state. This year, the area under cotton production increased from 2.38 lakh hectares to more than 4 lakh hectares. A major reason for this increase in production levels was an enhancement in the minimum support price (MSP), rising from Rs 4,220 per quintal in 2017-18 to Rs 5,350 in 2018-19. This year, the MSP was further enhanced to Rs 5,550 per quintal.
As an agricultural state, Punjab has the fortune of having several rivers flowing through it—specifically the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi—and the many canals that have been carved out of them.
However, a large part of the hinterland is still dependent on groundwater, with diesel and electric pumps being used to irrigate the fields. And this is where the state faces a major challenge. The paddy crop requires 5,000 litres of water per kilogram, which is itself dependent on a continuous supply of electricity. Punjab is among the few states which still supplies free electricity to farms. Ultimately, this leads to an increasing cost for the state government—according to RBI statistics, the state spends about Rs 1.5 lakh per hectare. And this does not include the recent announcements of crop and income assurance under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.
However, official statistics also suggest that the average farmer in Punjab is burdened with debt. A recent report by the NITI Aayog suggests that the average rural household in the state has a debt of about Rs 2.12 lakh, among the highest in the country. This is also borne out by the fact that in 2017, the Amarinder Singh government stormed to power promising debt waivers for farmers.
On the positive side, the state’s progress in agriculture is complemented by the improvement in its infrastructure. All villages in the state are now connected by bitumen roads, and the state’s highways have been improved drastically over the past few years. According to RBI statistics, the ratio of Punjab’s highway network length to its total area is 0.1 km per sq. km, with around 84 vehicles operating on such a patch per day. This is one of the best figures for any state in India. At the same time, Punjab was among the first states to provide electricity to all its households, and the National Family Health Survey shows that it has nearly universal coverage of improved drinking water for households.
The state also has access to two international airports, one at Chandigarh and the other at Amritsar. The civil aviation ministry is also pushing for more flights from/ to its four domestic airports at Bathinda, Adampur, Ludhiana and Pathankot under the UDAN scheme. For a state the size of Punjab, six airports is a notably high number. Two new major infrastructure projects are also expected to be commissioned by 2020—an expressway running parallel to National Highway-1, connecting Delhi to Amritsar, and a dedicated freight corridor connecting Delhi with Ludhiana and Dadri. ■