Raghbir Singh Brar
Faridkot
There was Rs 70 per quintal increase in the MSP of paddy for the procurement season of 2025 and by this way,if a farmer harvests about 30 quintal paddy from an acre on an average,he could expect a profit of about Rs 2100 from an acre of his crop.
But what he has got now,is loss ranging between Rs 25000 and Rs 10000 per acre depending upon the quality of soil,irrigation,control of diseases and pests,time of transplantation apart from the varieties,long and medium duration.
“I had never expected my paddy less than 30 quintals it it is always around it,but this year,I got only 20 quintals of paddy yield from my fields.It led to to a loss of about Rs 24000 per acre,” claimed a farmer Jaswinder Singh from a Faridkot village.
“From my about 30 acres of paddy crop, I got only 20 quintals per acre which I had not expected at all,” said Jagmeet Singh,another farmer from the district.
Jagmeet had also got a large chunk of land on lease as well.
“We have got about 28 quintals per acre this season while,earlier,we used to get about 33-34 quintal from the PUSA and other long duration varieties,”said Dharam Singh, a farmer from village Panjgrain Kalan.
“In 2023, I had got about 34 quintals per acre from paddy variety PR 131,in 2024 the yield came down to 30 quintals and this year, it was only 26 quintal.Despite an increase in the MSP, I ran into loss of about 8000 per acre even than the year 2023,” said another farmer from the district.
“The impact of the low yield and long dragging paddy season is apparently on most of the people involved in it.The labour which comes from other states failed to get profit, the commission of the commission agents dived,and the farmers are directly worst hit.Even the farmers,who had transplanted PR 126,have been hit hard.They got low yield,and due to higher moisture content, there was a distress sale of this variety.Apart from it, the sowing of wheat has been badly affected,” said Ashok Goel,former president of the ahartia association Kotkpaura.
As the cost on agriculture and other expenses are going up uninterruptedly, the farmer may have to borrow more loans instead of paying off their already taken loans.