by Pankaj Yadav
NEW DELHI, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Even as the 21-day lockdown (March 25-April 14) in India has thrown up some big economic challenges like unemployment and overall economic downturn, a new problem of lack of farm labourers for harvesting the wheat crops is staring into the eyes of farmers as the country is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are all the possibilities of extension of the lockdown by at least a month as some of the states have already suggested to continue with the lockdown. The country is slowly moving towards the COVID-19 peak as the number of tests is increased, which in turn throws out more positive cases.
As per the latest figures put out by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 773 positive cases were detected in India in the past 24 hours as the number of deaths rose to nearly 150.
In terms of availability of farm labourers, the worst-affected seems to be the northern state of Punjab, otherwise called "Wheat Bowl" of India. Beginning April, the farm labourers used to start reaching the state from eastern state of Bihar and northern state of Uttar Pradesh but are missing this year due to travel restrictions amid the lockdown.
Punjab alone contributes to nearly one-third of the total wheat production in the country every year. According to the latest estimates for the current season, the total production of wheat in the country is estimated at record 106.21 million tonnes in 2019-20, which is higher by 2.61 million tonnes as compared to the wheat production in 2018-19.
According to media reports, the Punjab government on Wednesday extended its curfew (lockdown) till April 30.
It's barely a couple of days for the harvesting season to begin in north India, but farmers in Punjab are totally clueless about how to harvest the wheat crops for want of farm labourers.
Speaking to Xinhua from Ludhiana in Punjab, Harinderpal Singh Gill said that the crops are almost ready for harvest.
"I can see that in another three to four days the crops in my fields should be cut, else it will dry to the extent that it will fall to the ground and wasted beyond recovery," said Gill who owns nearly 40 acres of agriculture fields.
He further said that if present circumstances continued for the next one week to 10 days and the farm labourers are not able to travel and reach their lands, it might lead to a grave problem of hunger in many parts of the country later this year.
"Punjab is called the Wheat Bowl of India and caters to a large portion of wheat requirements in the country. If the crops are not harvested on time, there will surely be a grave shortage in the coming year. For want of farm labourers who used to migrate to this part of India from April - June is missing this year due to the ongoing lockdown to check the COVID-19 spread," he added.
Another farmer, Sachdev Singh Gill, from village "Gill" in Ludhiana told Xinhua that every year farm labourers from states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh used to migrate to Punjab from April till June.
"In April these farm labourers used to harvest wheat crops, help in transporting them in the government's open markets called 'Mandis', and then till our lands for sowing rice crops. They used to leave here in later part of June after sowing rice crops," he said. "But this year it seems that the whole cycle of harvesting the wheat crops and sowing the rice crops will be broken."
He further said that there is also a shortage of big agricultural machines like "Harvester" or "Combined Harvester" which had gone to nearby states which sow advance wheat crops, and got stuck there in the lockdown.
The government's open markets, Mandis, are also shut and there is a sense of total uncertainty prevailing in this part of India, as "we are clueless how to harvest the grain crops and then where to store or sell them," added Sachdev Singh Gill.
The problem is a bit different in the adjoining state of Haryana. While in some parts the migrant farm labourers are still available, in other parts labourers from other states substituted for the labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Rajaram Yadav, a farmer in the Rewari district of Haryana, said that this year fortunately labourers from Rajasthan came to their rescue. "Every year farm labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh used to migrate to our lands in April for the harvesting season. But this year they couldn't come due to lockdown. Fortunately, farm labourers from nearby Rajasthan state reached us on time," he added.
Admitting shortage of farm labourers this year, Sandeep Dahiya, a farmer in Sonepat district of Haryana, told Xinhua that the other supplementary problem is that of closure of "Mandis" and no certainty of procurement of foodgrains by the government. "The government-run Mandis are shut and there is no clarification about when they would be reopened. In such a situation we have no option but to store our foodgrains inside our homes," he added.
According to him, very few farm labourers were available in his area and the local farmers in his vicinity were making every possible effort to make them feel comfortable so that they work on their farmlands during the current harvest season.
"We have provided them wheat flour and potatoes, and also given them some cash so that they fulfill all their needs and not think of running away in these difficult circumstances when farmers in general are facing the problem of farm labourers," added Dahiya.
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is the nodal central agency of the government of India, along with other state agencies, that undertakes procurement of wheat crops (and others) under price support scheme.
Coarse grains are procured by the state government agencies for central pool as per the direction issued by the government of India. The procurement under Price Support is taken up mainly to ensure remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce which works as an incentive for achieving better production.
India has two crops seasons. "Rabi" crops are sown at the end of monsoons or beginning of winter season and harvested in April, while "Kharif" crops are sown in June and harvested in October.
