Sangrur, Barnala farmers flag shortage of wheat seeds
Farmers in Sangrur and Barnala face a wheat seed shortage, raising concerns about timely sowing and inadequate government support.
Farmers in Sangrur and Barnala districts have flagged a shortage of wheat seeds.
Kulwinder Singh, a farmer from Nadampur village in Sangrur district, expressed his frustration.
“The seed is not available. The government is claiming that the seeds would be provided, but not even a single bag is available,” he said. Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) experts recommend that wheat sowing should ideally be completed between October 15 and November 15; otherwise, it might affect yield.
Jagtar Singh from Laddi village in Sangrur said the delay has farmers worried.
“What will be the use of seeds if we get them late. We are being told by the agriculture officials that the subsidised seed would only be allocated to farmers possessing J Forms, available through an online application process, with a limit of two bags, weighing 40 kg each, at a 50% subsidy for ₹800. What would we do with the remaining land? A farmer needs around 50kg of seed per acre, and the subsidised 80 kg seeds, as promised, will be clearly insufficient to sow two full acres,” Jagtar said.
While the government has made seeds free for flood-affected farmers, the other will be a 50% subsidy restricted to only 2 to 2.5 acres of land.
The problem is the same in Barnala district. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) district chief Chamkaur Singh said he has approached the agriculture department and was told to book seeds online.
“The officials said even after completing the online process, the seed would be provided only if available. We need seeds now when the sowing is about to start, not later,” he added.
Official privy to development, pleading anonymity, admitted to a shortage of seeds.
“The seeds are being provided by PUNSEED and the agriculture department disbursing the subsidy, ” he said.
As per the agriculture department, DBW 187 and PBW 826 are popular among the farmers. While there are other varieties as well, which include DBW 327, PBW 826, DBW 222, HD 2967, and DBW 303. When contacted, the chief agriculture officer of Sangrur, Dharminderjit Singh, said there is no shortage of seed as of now. Despite repeated attempts, the chief agriculture officer of Barnala couldn’t be contacted for comments.
