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Farm workers transplanting paddy at Shahpur village in Punjab
| Photo Credit:
RAMESH SHARMA
Farmers in 10 border districts in two key agricultural states of Rajasthan and Punjab, who grow Kharif crops such as paddy (Basmati and non-Basmati both), moong and bajra in about 30 lakh hectare (lh) and produce 43 lakh tonnes (lt) of foodgrains, are not worried about the India-Pakistan conflict. For them, safeguarding the national boundary takes precedence over crops. However, with the ceasefire announced, they are hopeful that normal activities will commence this year once the monsoon arrives.
Naik Mal Singh, a retired army personnel who owns land just 30 kilometres from the international border in Jaisalmer district, said: “We are disappointed as we were ready to sacrifice the crop for a season had the war continued. There should have been a permanent lesson to Pakistan.” National interest is priority for farmers in border areas and everyone there seems to agree with Singh’s opinion.
Harnam Singh of Tarn Taran district in Punjab also echoed similar sentiments and said that there should be proper planning as this year they were told to hurry up wheat harvesting, though timely sowing of the crop also helped. He said they feel safe as police and military keep patrolling the area and would advise if its okay to farm or not.
Chhinder Pal, a farmer of Fazilka district of Punjab who has 60 acres of land adjacent to the border (fenced wire), said that since he earns his livelihood from farming, he will not fear any war. “Unless the government tells us to leave the field unsown, there is no reason to skip a season. We have grown up here and there is no fear,” Pal said from the field on Sunday.
Pal said there was no shelling in the current stand-off in the area where his land is located, except some incidents on Friday night. He said he is currently irrigating the field and in another 15 days will plant Pusa 1121 and other Basmati varieties through direct seeded rice (DSR) technique, which does not require a nursery.
Farmers of Fazilka, Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts in Punjab had produced 34.03 lt of foodgrains from 8.77 lh area in 2023-24, whereas the output was 8.84 lt from an area of 20.83 lh in Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar (including newly carved out Anoopgarh) districts of Rajasthan.
Among these 10 districts, pulses (moong and moth) and bajra (millets) are the major crops grown in 20 lh in Rajasthan, while the share of paddy in Punjab is more than 98 per cent.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on May 10 had reviewed the farming situation in border districts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir, taking stock of the availability of farm inputs like fertilisers and seeds. He issued necessary instructions to officials of the ministry to make proper arrangements for the farmers of these districts.
The ministry has been instructed to make arrangement for paddy transplanting ready in other places, so that, if required, those can be transported to the border districts. He asked the officials to identify the villages falling within 10-15 km of the border and assess the amount of cultivable land there, collect data of the Kharif crops sown in these villages to make a plan so that farmers receive necessary help.
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Published on May 11, 2025
This article first appeared on The Hindu Business Line
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