Standing crops seen damaged due to recent rains in Ferozepur district.
City Air News photo: Harish Dido
Ferozepur, March 25, 2013: On Saturday night, the sudden clouds in the afternoon and heavy rainfall accompanied by high-velocity winds in the evening, damaged the standing wheat and other crops in the several parts of the state.
The farmers of the affected villages Lakha Singh Wala, the nature was very kind to them since its sowing but with the sudden change in climate, the golden coloured crop was damaged standing in the fields.
Though Chief Minister, Punjab Parkash Singh Badal has ordered to conduct a comprehensive survey to assess the extent of damage and as per government norms, the affected farmers after the survey, would be given adequate compensation but the farmers community is already fed up from the lengthy procedures for releasing such compensations.
In fact, for harvesting the crop, the moisture level has to be less than 60 per cent while the harvesting is already delayed in the state due to untimely rains and the recent rain has further delayed the process.
When a retired agriculture expert was contacted, he said, the untimely rain, when the crop is matured, shrinks the grain size and quantity and ultimately putting a loss to the farmer and the food bowl of India also. There are also apprehensions of attack of yellow rust and aphid attack on the crop because of chilly winds besides delaying the sowing of the next crop. He further said that the wheat sown in December and January is more like to have these attacks than sown in October and November as the humidity and cold weather are responsible for aphid growth as it attack when the crop is ripening which can reduce the yield by 10-15 per cent per acre.
The farmers, who are already under debt of loans, are under another attack of natural calamity and appealed to the government to compensate them suitable.
Since wheat and paddy are cash crops, one of the insurance expert, was of the view that India's crop insurance program is the world's largest with 25 million farmers insured. However, issues in design, particularly related to delays in claims settlement, have led to 95 million farmer households not being covered, despite significant government subsidy. There is need to have a modified agriculture insurance scheme at the national level, to help the farmer’s community.