Shortage of migrant labourers hit farmers in harvesting season

Numerous villages visited by The Indian Express team last week had local labourers working in the fields with migrants almost missing or helping as assistants.

The premier bread basket state starves for expert labour ahead of the paddy sowing and transplantation season that officially starts from June 10. The shortage of labour in Punjab has forced farmers to look out for migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to sow nearly 28 lakh hectares of land in the state.

“There is a dearth of expert labour for harvesting wheat,and I am not sure what would happen with us in the paddy season. The use of combines has increased too much and due to that the harvest season is limited to a few days,” said Jaspal Singh,a farmer from Swaipur village. “The local labour charge Rs 11,00 per quintal,while migrant labourers come cheap. But now the migrant labourers work under NREGA scheme in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” he added.

“The labourers demand their choicest liquor and other intoxicants that keep them on a high while harvesting fields,” said Pargat Singh from Jallan village. The farmers dependency on migrant labour is as near as 90 per cent he informed.

Harjeet Singh,a farmer from Samana,said though labour woes would continue in the paddy season,machines would replace them in the coming years. “We are waiting for the time when machines will sow paddy. If we get migrants we have to arrange for bhang and liqour for them and also give them a shelter,” said Singh,who has 30 migrants working presently and is short of 20.

Chief agriculture officer B S Sohal claimed the shortage of migrants would increase every year given the improving work conditions in their states.