Coronavirus: As harvest season approaches, Punjab farmers have hard time making arrangements

Manav Mander
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, April 11

With wheat harvesting season to start from April 15, the farmers are having a tough time in making all the necessary arrangements to kickstart the harvesting process.

Amidst the shortage of labour, the other problem that they are facing this year due to the virus spread is arranging sanitisation of the tractors and combines and also providing sanitisers to the workers working in the fields.

The cause of concern for the farmers is that the sanitisers that are not easily available in the market these days due to huge demand and the cost factor are also bothering especially the marginal farmers.

Amidst this situation, farmers are now asking the government to allow them to make alcohol so that they can prepare their own sanitisers at home by using alcohol and aloe vera.

Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary of Bhartiya Kissan Union said that in first place sanitisers are not easily available in the market.

“Government has asked to sanitise the tractors and combines also apart from giving the to the labour that will be working in the fields,” he said.

Futher, he added that sanitisers cost between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per litre, and are not easily available in the market.

If one combine is to be sanitised it will require almost 2 litres of sanitiser per day and the harvesting process is going to last for 15 days.

The combine will have to sanitised before every time it goes to the new field, he said.

“Sanitising the tractor, Combine and providing it to the labour will cause of huge burden on the farmers. At the end of the harvesting season we will end up spending nearly RS 50-60,000 on the sanitisation,” he said.

Giving a solution to the crisis, Lakhowal said that they are requesting the government that they should be allowed to make alcohol at their homes for three months so that the process of sanitisation can be done smoothly.

“We can mix alcohol with aloe vera and prepare a sanitiser which will cost only Rs 50 per litre to us,” he said.

Another farmer, Amrik Singh from village Bharthala near Samrala said that he is not aware of the sanitisation process and from where will procure the sanitisers amidst lockdown.

“On the one side labour is scarce as migrants have returned and amidst this, the condition of sanitisation has caused a worrisome situation. Sanitisation of tractors and combines should be arranged by the village panchayats with the help of the agriculture department as not all the farmers are aware regarding the procedure,” he said.

Meanwhile, another farmer from village Adiana near Maachiwara said that government should give Rs 100 per quintal as a bonus for keeping wheat at home as it will lessen the rush in the mandis.

“Government should also make arrangements for bringing back the migrants as harvesting season is about to start and should also give permission to make alcohol for making sanitisers as being marginal farmers we cannot afford to buy costly sanitisers from the market which are also short in supply,” he said.