Amid shortage of labour, potato, sugarcane farmers a worried lot

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 9

The farming community has been facing several issues amid the crisis induced by Covid-19. Shortage of farm hands is one of them. Though some labourers have returned, others are still at home in their native states.

Farmers first faced problems in sowing wheat, then in transplanting paddy. Over the next few months, they would sow potato and sugarcane crops and this is making them worried.

Sukhwant Singh, a farmer from Nakodar, said it seemed that farmers would not get rid of the problem of labour shortage. “Sowing season of potato and sugarcane is here and we are short of labourers. We have no idea how we will manage,” he said.

Kirpal Singh from Shahkot area said farmers were now mulling over not sowing the labour-intensive crops. “It is important that farmers wake up now and switch to crops that aren’t labour intensive. I have already done it,” he said.

Notably, amid the labour shortage because of the lockdown-induced migration, farmers in the district have already been adopting various means to bring back farm hands, but those who cannot bring the labourers back are in a state of worry.