Direct seeding gains ground

Parveen Arora

WITH migrant labourers unable to come to Haryana ahead of paddy-sowing, the woes of the state’s farmers are going to worsen in the paddy season. Severe shortage of labour owing to the Covid lockdown is set to adversely affect paddy transplantation in the state, which is among the leading contributors to the Central pool. Haryana produces around 68 lakh metric tonnes of paddy on 32 lakh acres.

The state relies on labourers from UP, Bihar, MP and other states for farm-related activities, but due to restricted movement, such workers are confined to their native states.

In the absence of migrant labourers, who are adept at paddy-sowing and charge nominal rates, farmers would have to depend on local labour, which is demanding double the rates charged by the migrants. Earlier, during wheat harvesting, farmers had faced the same problem and got harvesting done with the help of combines.

Jasbir Singh, a farmer from Jainpur village in Kurukshetra district, says, “I always prefer labour from Bihar for paddy plantation, but due to the lockdown, there is no hope of their arrival this time. I paid Rs 2,200 per acre last year to migrant labourers for paddy-sowing, but the local labour is demanding Rs 4,200-4,400.”

“We faced problems during wheat harvesting due to the shortage of labour and it will be the same story during paddy plantation. Local labourers are in high demand, due to which they have hiked their rates,” says Subhash Gurjar, a farmer from Dhourang village in Yamunanagar district. The shortage of labour will delay paddy plantation, he adds.

Amid the labour shortage and the high rates sought by the local labourers, a large number of farmers may adopt the direct seeding of rice (DSR) method.

“The shortage of labour is forcing us to opt for the DSR, which is no doubt water-saving, but it gives lesser yield in comparison to the paddy transplantation method. It also has weed issues, but we have no option but to go for it,” says Ravinder Mehla, a farmer from Baldi in Karnal district, which is considered to be a rice bowl of the country.

Farmers are also approaching the Agriculture Department for paddy-sowing machines. "I and other farmers of the district went to the Deputy Director, Agriculture, and requested him to provide us machines at subsidised rates for paddy plantation," says Kuldeep Balana, district president, Bhartiya Kisan Union, Panipat. He claims that the input cost has already increased manifold.

Aditya Dabas, Deputy Director, Agriculture, Karnal, says farmers can adopt the DSR method as it saves 25-30 per cent water in comparison to the traditional paddy transplantation method. He appeals to the farmers to switch to alternative crops like maize or pulses for saving water. “The state government recently launched the Mera Pani, Meri Virasat scheme, under which farmers who opt for maize, pulses etc. or diversify into horticulture or growing vegetables in place of paddy during the season would be given an incentive of Rs 7,000 per acre,” he says.

“The scheme has been launched specifically for the eight paddy-intensive blocks — Ratia, Siwan, Guhla, Pipli, Shahabad, Babain, Ismailabad and Sirsa. If the farmers of other blocks are keen to stop sowing paddy, they can apply for the incentive by informing the authorities in advance,” he adds. The government will provide 80 per cent subsidy to the farmers for adopting micro-irrigation and drip irrigation system along with growing crops in place of paddy.

KVK TRIALS

Dr Dalip Gosai, former

Principal Scientist and head, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, says due to the scarcity of labour, farmers can use the direct seeding of rice (DSR) technology. The KVK has conducted long-term trials under the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) in which paddy variety Pusa Basmati 1121 and Pusa Basmati 1509 were cultivated. It was found that there was no yield penalty and the farmer could save around Rs10,000/hectare,” he says.

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