2-day lockdown will not affect harvesting, procurement say agri experts

The 21-day nationwide lockdown will not affect harvesting and procurement of rabi crops in Haryana, say agriculture experts.

Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU) vice-chancellor KP Singh said the mustard crop was ready for harvesting and in many areas farmers had started reaping it. Harvesting early varieties of wheat will start in the first week of April and reaping will begin in the second week of April.

“If harvesting of mustard crops is delayed by a week, it will cause a loss of 25-30% yield and over 50% in two weeks due to shattering of pods. We are not expecting any loss in crops like wheat, barley and gram till April 14, if harvesting is delayed”, he added.

According to Haryana agriculture department, the state is likely to produce 135 lakh tonnes of wheat and 125 lakh tonnes of mustard crop.

Dayanand Punia, secretary of Haryana Kisan Sabha, said farmers were facing acute shortage of labourers after they moved back home after a nationwide lockdown was announced to contain coronavirus.

“Harvesting machines (combines) are yet to reach Haryana from Punjab. Most combine owners prefer to rush to Haryana after reaping wheat in Punjab. Local labourers have been charging ₹3,000 per acre for harvesting mustard against last year’s rate of ₹1,800. Shortage of labourers will also pose a difficulty for wheat growers”, he said.

Punia said the government must provide space to farmers to store their grains, and if procurement is delayed,the government must purchase mustard and wheat crop at MSP after April 20.

The agriculture department has issued orders to DC’s to allow movement of combines. The state agriculture department had issued a notice to all deputy commissioners and asked them to allow movement of combines across the state.

“Farmers should make maximum use of combines to harvest their crop amid coronavirus scare. The combine operators should sanitise their machine regularly while reaping crops. Farmers and labourers should also maintain distance while harvesting their fields”, the order mentioned.

Meanwhile, farmers are upset over untimely rain in many districts of Haryana. Farmers in Sirsa, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bhiwani and Rohtak have faced crop loss due to high speed winds flattening their crop. Hisar witnessed around 17.6mm rain on Friday evening.

Head of the department of meteorology and agriculture ML Khichar said, “One can expect 17.6mm rain with hailstorms on Friday evening. This will damage farmers’ crops. Due to western disturbances, the weather will be remain cloudy till April 1. After April 1, the temperature is likely to remain dry and hot.”

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