Little increase in labour chargesas DSR gets good response
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service
Muktsar, June 10
Despite much hullabaloo over the exodus of migrant labourers due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is an insignificant rise in labour charges for transplantation of paddy crop in the region. As the transplantation season officially started today, some paddy growers informed that they had struck deals at Rs 2,700-3,000 per acre for paddy transplantation, which is just about Rs 200-300 more than the last year.
Gurdeep Singh, a farmer from Daula village here, said, “A majority of farmers having big landholdings have opted for direct sowing of rice (DSR) technique this year, thus the labourers who were earlier demanding double money have now agreed to work at almost last year’s charges. The paddy transplantation is underway at an average price of Rs 3,000 per acre in our area. Local labourers are available and working in the fields.”
Similarly, Prof (retd) SPS Brar from Maha Badhar village said, “Charges have not increased much just because a number of big farmers have opted for the DSR technique. Labourers are now agreeing to work on last year’s rates. At some places, they are working without even fixing the charges.”
Meanwhile, some farmers from Bathinda district said labourers from Muktsar district were transplanting paddy in the fields there. “It shows that there is no shortage of labourers and they were even going to other districts to get some work,” said one of them.
Farmer Ranjit Singh said, “Undoubtedly, migrant labourers are more efficient in paddy transplantation, but the local labourers are also doing well. The farmers are feeling relieved due to the DSR technique. If they get good results this season, then hardly anyone will sow paddy using the traditional method of transplantation in future.”
Karnjit Singh, project director, Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA), Muktsar district, said, “Earlier, there were reports that labour charges for paddy transplantation would sharply increase this season, but nothing like that has happened. Farmers are paying almost the same money that was paid last year. Presently, labourers are charging Rs 2,500-3,000 for per acre transplantation. The deals have been struck for July as well.”
He said as of now, paddy sowing has been done in nearly 31,000 hectares through the DSR technique in the district, which is expected to go beyond 50,000 hectares in the coming days. The remaining 60,000 hectares will be covered through the traditional method of transplantation and 98,000 hectares have been brought under cotton cultivation this season, he said. Further, there are some reports that nearly 7 lakh hectares have already been cultivated through the DSR technique in the state.
Notably, some village panchayats have fixed the charges of paddy and basmati plantation as well.
