Paddy season: Punjab to offset acute labour crunch with hi-tech machines

Neel Kamal | TNN | May 3, 2020, 15:35 IST

Bags of wheat awaiting lifting from the Bathinda market

BATHINDA: Ahead of the paddy transplantation season starting next month, Punjab agriculture department is working on a three-pronged strategy to overcome the acute labour shortage the state is likely to face. The department plans to tackle the problem by decreasing area under paddy transplantation, encouraging mechanised transplantation through direct seeding rice (DSR) and making local labour capable of smoothly undertaking transplantation as well as harvesting operations.
The department has started working on these three steps. Transplantation will start at any time after June 10. Normally, around 12 lakh labourers come to Punjab from other states for paddy transplantation but the department feels nearly two lakh migrantlabourers areworking in the state and others may not return, causing a shortfall of nearly 10 lakh.
In 2019, paddy was grown in 29.65 lakh hectares of land in Punjab. This included Basmati in 5.50 lakh hectares and nonbasmati in 24.15 lakh hectares. Cotton was grown in 3.90 lakh hectares. The state government isworking toshifttowater resistant alternative crops to conserve fast depleting ground water and cope with labour shortage caused by Covid-19. The department plans to decrease the area under non-basmati paddy by over 2.50lakhhectares.Officials want the area being used to grow cotton to be increased from 3.90 lakh hectares to 5 lakh hectares. Area under maize will be increased by nearly 1.3 lakh hectares from 1.58 lakh hectares to nearly 2.90 lakh hectares.