Labour a worry as wheat procurement begins

Harshabab Sidhu

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Mohali, April 15

Only in a few areas, labourers were seen harvesting crops with a sickle. Combines were seen in various areas, which were being sanitised by the village panchayats before use.

According to the farmers of Mohali, the lockdown has hit them hard this season due to the shortage of labour and less outcome of the crop following heavy rains in the recent past.

Due to the unavailability of labourers, farmers are shifting to combines in some areas. They believed that there was a huge difference in the production of wheat straw by using manual and machine harvesting method.

Mehar Singh, state president, Bharti Kisan Union Ekta, said harvesting with combines reduced wheat straw production to only 50 per cent as compared with manual harvesting. He said now, majority of the farmers were opting for combines as several migrant labourers had already returned to their states due to the lockdown. However, combine harvesting is faster and cheaper than manual harvesting, but due to less wheat straw production through combines, small farmers have to buy straw for their cattle.

Malkiat Singh Khatra, a farmer from Thedi village who owns 24 acres, said, “There is no clear picture from the administration and commission agents (arhtiyas) about the procurement and permission of taking tractor-trolley to the grain markets. We don’t know whether we have to collect the curfew pass or agents will provide it to us here. Secondly, we have no idea about the fixed quantity of wheat per trolley. The lockdown has added to our woes.”

Surendar Singh, a farmer from Cholta Khurd, said farmers were unable to get their faulty agricultural equipment repaired as workshops were shut.

District Magistrate Girish Dayalan had prohibited harvesting through combine machines between 7 pm and 6 am in the district. However, it can be done from 6 am to 7 pm.