DESPITE LABOUR SHORTAGE, PUNJAB IS EXPECTED TO SUSTAIN PADDY GROWING: PAU ECONOMIST

LUDHIANA, JUNE 21:--



Paddy is the major kharif crop of Punjab. It is estimated that an area of around 27 lakh hectare will be put under paddy this season. These expressions were made by Dr. M.S. Sidhu, Head Department of Economics and Sociology of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). He said that the farmers, especially in the kharif season, largely depend upon the migratory labour hailing from states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Tracing back, Dr. Sidhu said that in the year 1978-79, the migratory labour to the tune of 2.19 lakh came to Punjab and added that the recent surveys of 2006-07 indicated its number as 4.21 lakh. The migratory labour undertook all the operations such as sowing nursery, field preparation, puddling, transplanting, undertaking plant protection measures, harvesting and marketing. However, the recent scenario of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme popularly known as MGNAREGA has offered them employment in their own states. Under this scheme, 100 days employment is assured to one adult member in each rural household in a year. Besides, fast economic development has taken place in the states like Bihar during the last about six years. This led to the creation of employment and overall well being of the rural society in these states. Dr. Sidhu said adding that this has resulted in a significant decline in the migratory labour that affects the agricultural operations in Punjab.



He highlighted that to cope with the labour shortage, several steps at the level of Government and Punjab Agricultural University have been taken. The University has held programmes on the generation and the popularization of mechanized transplanting of paddy, organizing trainings to farmers on the technique of raising mat type paddy nursery, and the use of paddy transplanters. The government has launched programmes of making available subsidies, implementing law to discourage early transplanting of paddy, etc. Dr. Sidhu said that the legal steps to ban the transplanting of paddy before June 10 have been followed by farmers and that it has generated a favourable impact in minimizing the rate of underground water table depletion, especially in the central Punjab.



Further, in the recent years, the area under basmati has increased significantly which resulted in saving of ground water in the state. Keeping in view the shortage of migrant agriculture labour in Punjab, the local labour has also joined operation of transplanting of paddy. Besides, marginal and small farmer households are themselves involved themselves in this operation, which has resulted in a substantial economic saving to them. In spite of the shortage of migrant labour, the transplanting of paddy will complete within the next one month or so, said Dr. Sidhu.



The Additional Director Communication, Dr. Jagtar Singh Dhiman said that the timely dissemination of technical information to farmers in terms of flash messages, expert articles through electronic and print media has been successful in curbing the early paddy transplantation and the effective crop management.
News From: http://www.7StarNews.com