Paddy Procurement Issues in Punjab and Haryana

Study Notes

Paddy Procurement in Punjab and Haryana

The slow pace of paddy procurement in Punjab is due to a combination of short-term official incompetence and long-term policy failures.
Short-term Issues
- Lack of storage space for the new crop. 119 tonnes of rice from last year's 124.1 tonnes of milled grain are still in Punjab's warehouses.
- The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is not moving this rice out of the state.
- Millers are hesitant to lift paddy brought by farmers on behalf of state agencies due to uncertainty about timely delivery of custom-milled rice.
Long-term Issues
- Policy failure to wean Punjab and Haryana away from paddy cultivation. There is no need for these states to grow rice since other states can meet the country's needs.
- Excessive paddy cultivation: Punjab and Haryana's paddy area reached a record high of 32.4 lakh and 16.4 lakh hectares respectively.
- Overproduction: India currently has record-high stocks of 386.8 tonnes of rice in government warehouses.
Farmer Impact and Concerns
- Tardy Procurement: Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are suffering from the slow paddy procurement. Heaps of un-lifted grain are lying in mandis.
- Slowed Harvesting: Farmers are slowing down harvesting their already ripened paddy due to the lack of procurement.
- Sowing Window: The delayed procurement is narrowing the window for sowing the next wheat crop, which needs to be planted before mid-November for a desired harvest by early-April. This could lead farmers to rely on stubble burning to clear fields.
- Environmental Impact: Stubble burning leads to air quality problems in North India, including the national capital.
Government Assurances
- Minister Pralhad Joshi has assured farmers of procurement of all grain by November-end.
Conclusion
- The solution to resolve this problem must begin in Punjab and Haryana.
- Creating more storage space is an immediate but ultimately insufficient short-term fix for the deeper political and logistical issues hindering efficient paddy procurement.
- The excessive production and lack of storage are not only impacting current farmers but the environmental sustainability as well.