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Punjab witnessing a new trend in farming

Private firms leasing farmland from ready marginal farmers at rates between Rs 7,000 and Rs 17,000 per acre

Jalandhar: Although the much-vaunted Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) project to establish 52 agricultural hubs in Punjab is yet to be implemented, the trend of contract farming is already picking up in the State with private companies leasing farmland from ready small and marginal farmers.

The concept behind the RIL project has found appeal among private companies that have begun leasing agricultural land at rates between Rs 7,000 and Rs 17,000 per acre.

Farmers who make little gains themselves from cultivating wheat or paddy crops and after bribing middlemen at procurement agencies, are finding the offer a "profit-making deal".

The companies, instead of going for the traditional wheat-paddy cycle, were sowing profit-making crops.

In Doaba for instance, they were cultivating crops like baby corn, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, sponge gourd, cucumber, cauliflower, green chillies, onion, carrot and radish.

Farmers of Allowal, Muddan, Bajjah, Kala Singhia, Basti Danish Manda areas were upbeat after their lands were leased by a Delhi-based company Field Fresh Private Limited, and so were labourers who were getting regular as well as better payment.

"Earlier we used to get paid Rs 50 to 60 per day, but now the company is paying us Rs 85, apart from contributing to the employees provident fund and a weekly off," said Saroj, a farm worker in Allowal village where the company has sown bitter gourd in 31 acres of land.

Soil quality

Kuldeep Singh, a supervisor for the company claimed the farmers of the village were happy because apart from getting good money, the soil quality of their land was also improving due to use of high-quality farming techniques.

But company in-charge for Doaba, Sham Singh, refused to explain what the techniques were.

"The company is already cultivating 1,170 acres of land in Doaba region and now more and more farmers are coming to offer their land on lease," he said.

The system is also said to have come as a relief to non-resident Indians who leave their farmlands behind at the mercy of often-devious relations.

Although lease farming has pleased many, there are others who have refused to be part of it and are now facing an acute shortage of labourers and escalating labour costs.

"The new trend of contract farming will increase the cost of production of other crops like wheat and paddy due to increase in labour rate," Paviter Singh, one of such farmer, said.

"Moreover, the new trend may pose serious threat to the food security of the country, as Punjab had been contributing more than half the total nationwide food stock of wheat and paddy," he said. -- PTI

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