Chandigarh, October 3
While there is a great confusion among agriculture experts regarding what disease actually caused maximum damage to paddy crop, at many places farmers have suspended their paddy harvesting operations, keeping in view the prevailing situation with regard to the procurement of their produce in various grain markets in Punjab.
Plant pathologists said that the attack of diseases on paddy crop was multipronged. What actually caused a maximum damage, that was blackening of paddy grains, could not be said with certainty. Experts said false smut, bacterial blight and bunt seemed to have hit the crop at various places. However, certain experts said that the process of pollination of paddy plants was seriously affected during the second fortnight of September because of inclement weather. It caused a maximum damage to paddy crop, they added. Because of the high incidence of damage to paddy grains, its procurement has become a problem.
Meanwhile, at various places commission agents have advised farmers to suspend the harvesting temporarily for a few days because of the fluid situation in various grain markets. Mr Jagtar Singh, Sarpanch of the Majri village, near Khanna, told The Tribune on the telephone this evening that he had told his men to stop the harvesting of the paddy for a few days.
He said that he was camping in the Khanna grain market for the past five days. " Till date my paddy stock has not been procured by the government agencies", he added. " I am not in position to harvest the remaining paddy till the stock brought by me in the market is procured", he said. He said that as the state government had taken up the matter with regard to relaxation in specifications with the Union Government, things may improve regarding paddy procurement in days to come.
Paddy cannot be stacked at home even for a few weeks after harvesting. It has to be brought straight from the field to the market. Mr Sukhpal Singh of Raunu village, near Khanna, corroborated
with what Mr Jagtar Singh said. “I have 10 acres of more paddy to harvest. But I have told my people back home to wait till the specifications are relaxed and procurement starts in a proper manner", he added.
The President of the Commission Agents Association of Khanna, Mr Harbans Singh Rosha, talking to The Tribune in this regard said that most the commission agents had advised farmers not to bring paddy to the market till the existing stocks were lifted from the market. He said that this advice had been given keeping in view the interest of farmers, who had to spend lot of money from their own pockets while camping in grain markets once they unload their produce in the market.
He said that there were farmers who could afford to suspend the harvesting of paddy for a few days as their crop had not fully matured yet. " But those farmers, whose crops have matured cannot take such a risk. Of course, they would have to harvest their crop or over ripening could lead to fall of paddy and shattering of grains", Mr Rosha said . He said that about 20 per cent of the existing stock of paddy in Khanna market was procured today by the state government agencies.
About 10 lakh tonnes of paddy has been procured by the government agencies and private traders in Punjab till date. However, there are commission agents, who have alleged that the government procurement agencies were only procuring the paddy from the shops of those commission agents who were either politically well connected or had good rapport with officers of the procurement agencies. " Officials of procurement agencies were bluntly following pick and chose policy as far as procurement of paddy was concerned", majority of commission agents of Khanna mandi said.
