Punjab Paddy Harvesting Crisis

Punjab’s paddy harvesting has tapered since October 2024. The new season start has been accompanied by good weather, but still 90% of the purchased harvest remains piled in mandis. The problem is being compounded by private downstream players, especially the rice millers, who have rejected holding government grain. Things are expected to get even worse should there be no action taken as we speak.

Sarna is a reader and writes from Punjab, India, about paddy procurement.

• The process of procurement of paddy is organized by the state governments and the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
• The procurement figures are decided ahead of the kharif marketing year from October to September.
• The procured paddy is milled and stored or allocated under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
• Only 37.68 lakh tonnes of paddy have been procured in Punjab so far till October 23, where procurement is expected to touch around 185 lakh tonnes this season.
• The slowdown is attributed to storage constraints, hybrid paddy varieties controversy, lack of labor, and commission issues.
• The consequences of such delays were serious, with only 22% of the paddy crop harvested so far, disruption to the agricultural cycle, and unrest jeopardizing farmers.
• The government needs to find immediate storage solutions and better coordinate and diversify the crop base in response to the crisis.