Early monsoon has failed to bring cheer to paddy farmers this season in Punjab and Haryana as acute labour shortage is reigning over the benefits, which rains could have brought along for the crop.

The central government?s National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme is picking up the momentum in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which has badly affected the inflow of migrant labourers in both the states.

Besides, the local labourers who shifted to the urban jobs in the last few years are shirking away from working in the farmland. Several factors are being attributed to this decline in the migration of labour from other states. Another important factor remains hike in minimum support prices of foodgrains, which in turn have raised the wages in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh as well.

The labour shortage has pushed the Punjab government to chalk out a strategy to overcome this problem and promote mechanised transplantation of paddy. The state government also plans to offer subsidy to farmers by next year who opt for these paddy transplanters.

On the other hand, even Haryana is mulling over promoting the same concept. ?Though few farmers with large land holdings are using paddy transplanters on their fields but we are trying to promote it amongst the small and marginal farmers as well. Considering the labour shortage problem, a subsidy is also being considered on using farm implements,? BS Duggal, joint agriculture director Haryana informed FE.

The hapless farmers are thronging railway stations in Punjab and Haryana just to catch hold of labourers and are ready to shell out extra bucks to hire them. Balbir Singh Rajewal, paddy farmer and president of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Punjab said, ?Last year these labourers used to charge around Rs 650 per acre. But now in such a scenario farmers are ready to pay between Rs 1,500-2,000 per acre. Despite offering the high price the labourers are not coming.?

Reiterating the scenario, Guni Prakash, president of BKU Haryana expressed, ?The farmers have also started going to UP and Bihar to bring back these labourers by paying advance money as high as Rs 20,000 for five people. Moreover the farmers have to bear the cost of living of the labourer once they come here hence escalating the overall cost of production. Due to the delay about 20-25% paddy won’t be transplanted in the fields.?

Where Punjab had produced 10.1 million tonne of rice last year, Haryana recorded a production of 3.62 million tonnes of rice. Paddy was sown over an area of about 26 lakh hectares in Punjab in 2007 and over 10.75 lakh hectares in Haryana. This year Haryana is targeting rice production of about 3.73 lakh tonne while Punjab is also expecting a bumper yield. The paddy sowing season had begun from June 10 and harvesting will start from the first week of October in both the states.

Commenting on the problem of labour shortage, Balwinder Singh Sidhu, director agriculture Punjab said, ?Those who have bigger land holdings are certainly facing problem. But around 65% are marginal farmers who have less than 10 acres of land and these farmers can manage this problem. However according to our plan mechanized transplantation of paddy will be encouraged. Demonstrations to create awareness on the concept will be held. Prices of hiring labourers have gone up which will exhort farmers to opt for machines?.

He further said that service and manufacturing sectors in other states are growing at a faster pace than Punjab creating enormous employment opportunities for people. ?In times to come this problem will aggravate and we should be ready with strategic plans to solve the problem?, he added

Rajewal having an 8 acre farm near Khanna is putting futile efforts to get the farm labourers to sow paddy from the last one week. ?About 35-40% of the workers who come here during sowing season from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh haven’t turned up this season. The time has come to adopt mechanized transplantation of paddy.?

Guni Prakash said that the farmers are also demanding better transportation facilities, cooperation from the police personnel and an agency to ensure the supply of labourers every sowing season.