Prices of direct paddy seeders go up

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, May 24

To overcome the problem of labour crunch, a majority of farmers are opting for direct seeding of rice (DSR) technique rather than going for the traditional method of paddy transplantation. As a result, the prices of tractor-operated direct paddy seeders have gone up by 60-80 per cent.

After failing to keep a check on the price of tractor-operated seeders, the state Agriculture Department has advised the farmers to replace two freewheels (gararis) by zero till drills, which are used to sow both wheat and paddy crop.

Hardeep Singh, a farmer of Gurusar village in Gidderbaha subdivision, said, “Earlier, some farmers from our village had bought direct paddy seeders for Rs40,000. However, the prices have now gone up to Rs65,000 to Rs70,000. Manufacturers are fleecing the farmers amid Covid crisis.”

An official of the Agriculture Department said most of the factories selling spare parts remained closed in Ludhiana and other towns, leading to the hike in prices. “Under the sub-mission agricultural mechanisation, a 40 per cent subsidy is given on the new direct paddy seeders,” he said.

Jalour Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer, Muktsar, said, “Factories supplying farm implements have opened, but are facing labour shortage. It was also learnt that the supply of iron was affected in the recent past, leading to a surge in its price. We have appealed to the farmers not to spend money on buying new seeders, but to bring about some minor changes in the existing zero till drills by spending less than Rs2,000.”