Farmers in Ambala anxious over labour shortage ahead of paddy sowing season
Harvinder Singh, a farmer from Sonda village near Hisar Road said his labourers were like family to him, but they left a few days ago due to panic and rumours without informing him
As migrant labourers continue to leave for their hometowns, farmers’ anxiety is shooting through the roof ahead of the paddy sowing season in the region.
After facing a similar problem during wheat harvest, farmers in Ambala are bracing for another period of labour shortage. Paddy is grown on nearly 80,000 hectares of land in the district.
Harvinder Singh, a farmer from Sonda village near Hisar Road said his labourers were like family to him, but they left a few days ago due to panic and rumours without informing him.
“There were around 15 labourers from Bihar working for years with us, but many of them believed that they might get stuck here if the impact of this pandemic increases. Sowing paddy will be a challenge for us without them. There is no support regarding machinery from the government, but we are expecting something in the economic package from the Centre,” he said.
Another farmer from Ambala said that he even offered ration and medical services to his labourers, but they insisted on leaving due to the infection scare. The farmer said this time he may have to sow paddy seeds with the help of his family.
This season comes as a test even for the state government after it altered some rules of paddy farming under the ‘mera paani, meri virasat’ scheme in many districts, including Ambala, owing to depleting water table in these areas.
Terming the labour engaged in paddy sowing as a sociological aspect, Ambala deputy director of agriculture (DDA) Girish Nagpal said, “This will boost mechanisation of agriculture through DSR (direct seeding of rice) equipment that are in great demand nowadays and subsidies will also be dispersed for the same. While there is no study as of now on this elevating their profitability, but the technique will definitely make the sowing compact and timely.”
About the new scheme, the DDA said, “In Ambala, availing the scheme is a choice as water depletion is not that bad. Till now, farmers with 1,000 acres of land have given their consent for it and we are hoping for more in the future.”