As wheat harvesting began on Monday in Punjab and Haryana on the auspicious day of Baisakhi, experts say that wheat procurement may be below the target as unseasonal rains have flattened crops dampening hopes of a bumper procurement this season.
Significantly, Punjab and Haryana contribute more than 60% of the foodgrain to the central pool and fall in procurement targets may affect the buffer stock.
Harcharan Singh Bains, media adviser to Punjab chief minister confirmed the damage to crop and said that the Punjab government has sanctioned a relief package of Rs 4.77 crore as natural calamity relief fund to the farmers in the districts of Amritsar, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Moga, Jalandhar and Fatehgarh Sahib in view of damage to standing crops.
About 18,968 acre crops has been affected out of a total wheat crop sown over an area of 23,400 hectare due to untimely rains and hailstorm between March 20 and April 2 this year according to assessment made by the revenue department.
Balbir Singh Rajewal, president, Bharatiya Kisan Union observed that last year the total wheat harvested from Punjab was 157 lakh tonne and procurement from different mandis was 105 lakh tonne. He said that this year procurement may not go beyond 70 lakh tonne. He said farmers in the state had suffered a loss of at least Rs 800 crore.
Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has directed state chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh and financial commissioner (revenue) Romilla Dubey to ensure immediate disbursal of relief funds to farmers whose crops had been damaged due to bad weather in the state.
Haryana?s agriculture minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha said that there were reports of damage to crops and the agriculture department officials were monitoring the situation closely. He said that the rain could delay harvesting in some parts.
However, when contacted director, agriculture, Punjab, BS Sidhu said that there was some damage to crop but ?no reports of extensive damage to crops had been received so far?. He said that ?wheat has been sown in over 34.8 lakh hectare of agricultural land this time. I have checked with various areas in Punjab and the crop has not suffered much damage.?