Punjab: Farmers, experts worried as rain could delay paddy harvest by fortnight

State agriculture director Jaswant Singh seeks report from all districts to assess impact on crop health, yield; assures affected growers of all assistance

Heavy rain accompanied with high-velocity wind and hailstorm in some parts of Punjab on Monday morning left farmers and agriculture department officials worried as paddy harvest and procurement are underway. Reports of hailstorm were received from Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Patiala districts.

Procurement at a standstill as workers cover a heap of paddy at the grain market in Bathinda after rain on Monday morning. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT)

Inclement weather at this stage could delay harvest by a fortnight and impact the quality of the grain with moisture content in the yield likely to go up.

Punjab agriculture director Jaswant Singh said the department has already sought a report about the damage due to the rain and strong winds across the state. “We will get the report by Monday evening or Tuesday morning. At present, we have reports of lodging of standing crops and accumulation of water in fields,” he said.

He termed the situation worrisome for farmers as rain is forecast on Tuesday as well. “Harvesting has been delayed due to the weather conditions. The crop health will be impacted in areas seeing hailstorm and in areas where paddy was sown late due to floods. We are monitoring the situation closely and all assistance will be provided to farmers,” the director said.

Monitoring situation closely

Nearly 22.7 lakh tonne of paddy has been procured by government agencies so far since October 1. The state agriculture department is expecting production of nearly 182 lakh tonnes of paddy. This year, 31.93 hectares of area is under paddy cultivation in Punjab.

District agriculture authorities have been asked to monitor the ground situation closely amid reports of waterlogging and lodging of crop from the districts.

Kapurthala chief agriculture officer Naresh Kumar Gulati said rain at this stage could affect the quality of the paddy grain that is vulnerable to shrivelling, blackening and discolouration.

Double whammy in Doaba

Jalandhar chief agriculture officer Jaswant Rai termed the rain as a double whammy for paddy growers in Doaba. “Earlier, their paddy crop was damaged due to floods and now they are facing the same situation at the time of harvesting. We have 1.75 lakh hectares of area under paddy and the crop in 94% of the area is yet to be harvested. Nearly, 5,000 hectares under paddy were damaged due to the floods in the monsoon,” he said.

Parminder Singh, a farmer from Mand village, said: “The government should provide adequate compensation and immediate financial relief to affected growers.”