Bumper crop despite rain deficit

Rich harvest in Punjab at cost of state's groundwater

Despite a grossly deficit monsoon, the production of paddy in Punjab this season has crossed a whopping over 142 lakh tonnes, the highest in the recent years.

The procurement process for the central pool is still underway, although much of the paddy has been procured by now. The high produce of paddy is sure to have had an adverse impact on the sub-soil water level in agrarian Punjab where the groundwater levels in 130 of the total 138 blocks has already been over exploited and has reached critical levels in at least nine blocks.

At a time when the prospects of production of high water-consuming paddy looked grim in wake of deficit rainfall, nearly 14 lakh water-guzzling bore- wells in Punjab fields gobbled out water from aquifer depths to sustain the crop, something that may not be a sustainable agriculture practice for long.

It was in 1996 that Punjab farmers produced a record of 150 lakh tonnes of paddy for the central pool. Last year, the figure touched 118 lakh tonnes. While high crop produce brings cheer for the otherwise beleaguered farmer in Punjab, experts say it is time to press the panic button to arrest the alarming depletion of sub-soil water in Punjab.

The state’s over dependence on borewells for irrigation presents a paradox of sorts. More than one-half of Punjab’s area under agriculture is served by a network of canals, but farmers have exercised little restraint when it comes to pumping out sub-soil water through tube wells in fields.

Sanjiv Panday, a Chandigarh-based expert on farm issues talking to Deccan Herald, said the high number of submersible pumps have aggravated agrarian crisis.

“A farmer spends Rs 5 to 8 lakh rupees periodically on adding depth to pumps. Several hundreds of crores have been spent this way and have added to farmer indebtedness. Surplus production, high input cost and low remunerative prices are spiralling the crisis.”

Power to farm section in Punjab is not only free but is also not metered, which is why an estimated Rs 45,000 crore has gone into providing power subsidy in Punjab since 1997 when free power for farm sector was introduced without distinguishing between the needy small, marginal farmer and the cash-rich farmers with large land holdings.