Farmers flay govt decision to allow paddy sowing from June 1

Members of the Young Innovative Farmers Group, active since 2014 under the mission “Pesticide-free, stubble-burning free agriculture”, have raised strong objections to the government’s recent decision to allow sowing of paddy from June 1 in some areas of Punjab.

In a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister, Agriculture Minister, Agriculture Secretary and Director of Agriculture, the group highlighted the harmful consequences of early sowing of paddy and urged immediate reconsideration of the order.

The farmers argued that the decision contradicts the state’s own long-term environmental and agriculture sustainability goals.

“Since 2008, the state’s law mandating paddy transplantation after June 10 (later shifted to June 15 in 2014) helped save water, electricity, fertilisers, and reduced unnecessary expenses. Agricultural institutions began developing water-efficient crop varieties and techniques and farmers adapted to those timelines,” the letter stated.

The group led by Gurbinder Singh Bajwa criticised the inconsistency in government’s approach. “On the one hand, the government is promoting crop diversification and discouraging water-intensive paddy varieties like Pusa-44, and on the other, it is advancing the transplanting date,” said Bajwa. He warned that sowing paddy in early June would expose crops to extreme heatwaves, humidity, methane emissions and lead to late monsoon rains, all while doubling the demand for electricity and groundwater.

Particularly concerning, the farmers said, is the fact that sustainable agricultural methods such as Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) and paddy sowing techniques that begin after June 25 would also be affected. This shift could also harm vegetable growers and basmati farmers who rely on optimal climatic windows for sowing and harvesting.

“Allowing puddling from June 1 could disrupt the entire ecosystem,” they warned, pointing to additional concerns over below average water levels in dams this year.