Farmers relieved as labour arrives for paddy season

With the onset of the paddy sowing season in Punjab, migrant labourers have begun arriving in the district. Farmers are gearing up for one of the most labour-intensive phases.

When there was a war-like situation last month, several farmers had shared that migrant workers were leaving, and they were apprehensive whether the labour would be back on time or not. But, the farmers were soon relieved when the labour returned on time. The arrival of workers from Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh provides much-needed support.

Tarsem Singh, a farmer from a village in Jalandhar, said sowing activities began just a few days ago and labourers are steadily arriving. “We started transplanting paddy earlier this week. With the paddy season, migrants have also arrived," he said.

"Labourers are now coming in numbers and things are picking up. Without them, it’s very difficult to manage,” another farmer said.

Paddy transplantation requires large amount of manual labour in a short window of time and the farmers have always relied on seasonal migrant workers to meet the demand.

Kirpal Singh, a farmer from Musapur village, explained how the labour shortage sometimes forces farmers to take matters into their own hands. “This time there is no shortage of labour. But, there are times when a farmer doesn’t have labour available, so they go to the railway station and request the labourers to come and work with them,” he said.

Such situation arose during the Covid times, when amid labour shortage, farmers in the district had adopted various means to bring back farm hands. Besides paying high rates for paddy transplantation, farmers had then arranged for train tickets for labourers, some farmers even had to go to their villages in UP and Bihar on their vehicles to bring the labour along with them.

While the arrival of migrant workers brings relief to farmers, it also highlights the continuing dependence on outside labour. Now farmers are praying for favourable weather. With the labour force arriving in strength, farmers are hopeful for a smooth and timely paddy season.