Punjab: Over 5 lakh tonnes of paddy reaches grain markets, 96% lifted so far

Punjab: In a major relief for flood-affected farmers in Punjab, paddy procurement is gradually picking up pace, although crop arrivals remain slow. Arhtiyas have expressed satisfaction with the ongoing lifting and payment process. Harbans Singh Rosha, president of the Khanna Grain Market Arhtiya Association, stated that of the approximately seven lakh bags received so far, over six lakh bags have been lifted and farmers have been paid. He said, “So far, over 514,036.61 metric tons of paddy have arrived in the mandis, of which over 481,967.08 metric tons have been lifted by procurement agencies. Approximately ₹923 crore has been paid to farmers, while arrears of ₹743 crore remain.”

Rosha said the government’s decision to begin procurement on September 15th instead of October 10th has helped streamline the process. He added, “Typically, procurement begins around October 10th and picks up pace by October 15th. This often delays harvesting, leading to chaos and even incidents of field fires. This year, the early start has benefited both farmers and commission agents.” However, the situation at Patiala’s grain market is not as smooth. Pawan Kumar Singla, president of the Patiala Commission Agents Association, said that the forecast of heavy rains has caused panic among farmers, who hastily harvested their crops. He said, “Most of the crops that have arrived at the market in the last two days have high moisture content. We are hesitant to pack such stock into sacks and are trying to dry them first. We have requested farmers who have storage space to hold their produce until it is completely dry before bringing it to the market.” He further stated that bringing paddy with high moisture content could lead to disputes with lifting agencies, although the overall lifting and payment process remained smooth. However, farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said that farmers from Dhariwal town in Gurdaspur have filed a complaint against rice sheller operators. He said, “They alleged that sheller owners are demanding a deduction of Rs 179 to Rs 300 per quintal for transporting paddy with moisture content above the permissible limit of 17 percent.” He added, “We have raised this issue with Gurdaspur district officials. These farmers are already suffering huge losses due to the floods and should not be exploited at this time.”