Punjab: Sangrur farmers relying on manual paddy harvest due to rain

Manual harvesting to cost more as combine harvesters can’t be used due to damp ground conditions after heavy rain; potato sowing delayed, too

Rain in the region has delayed paddy harvesting by at least a week but farmers are a worried lot as it may mean having to resort to manual harvest by employing labour than using combine harvesters. The rain has also delayed the sowing of potato.

A paddy farmer showing the paddy that got soaked after rain at the Bathinda grain market on Monday. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT)

However, the agricultural department in Sangrur has assured the paddy farmers that the rain will not impact the yield of their crop. Only harvesting of lodged crop will be difficult.

“The paddy crop has matured. Therefore, the rain will not cause much loss to it. Only the basmati variety that fell flat could pose problems while harvesting,” said Harbans Singh, the chief agriculture officer of Sangrur.

Farmer Satnam Singh, 30, a resident of Namol village, said, “I had sown basmati in two acres but it is now submerged. The rain will hit production. We will have to harvest it by employing labour and it will cost much more than combine harvesting.”

Joginder Singh, 45, another farmer from Sangrur, said, “I had harvested paddy but the yield is still in the grain market. I was preparing the field for potato sowing. The rain has delayed sowing.”