Bright rabi season predicted for Punjab and Haryana

RABI CROP SURVEY PART-II

Allaying fears of a poor yield this rabi season, Punjab and Haryana are likely to reap a fair harvest. Punjab accounts for about 20 per cent of the country's wheat production and 0.4 per cent of the total pulses and oilseeds produce.

Amardeep Singh Joshi, head, economics and sociology department, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), said with almost the same area under cultivation this time as last year and the use of agricultural inputs reaching an optimum level, only the weather could affect crop yields.

This year, the expected output (in 1000 tonnes) of wheat is 14,695, oilseeds 100, rapeseed 61, sunflower 31 and pulses 27.

Lal Singh Brar, former head, agronomy department, PAU, said the mercury suddenly shot up in February, raising fears that it might adversely affect the wheat produce.

"But the mercury soon came down and the produce turned out to be good and healthy. The weather in the last few weeks has been very hot and dry which is helping in improving the quality of the grains," he added.

Six agencies including the Food Corporation of India, Punsup, Markfed, Food and Supplies Department, Punjab Warehousing Corporation and Punjab Agro are all geared up for wheat procurement.

Bhartiya Kisan Union President Bhupinder Singh Mann said though the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices normally announced minimum support prices (MSP) for more than 25 crops, these were enforced only in the case of wheat and paddy.

The MSP fixed by the government for wheat is Rs 650 a quintal while it is Rs 1,715 for rapeseed/mustard, Rs 1,500 for sunflower, Rs 1,400 for arhar, Rs 1,520 for moong and Rs 1,520 for urad.

In Haryana, the area under wheat in 2005-06 is 23,80,000 hectares, compared to 23,22,000 hectares in the previous year. The state is expecting an average yield of 39 quintals a hectare.

This is slightly lower compared to 42 quintals a hectare in Punjab. The state's agriculture director, Rajesh Khullar, pointed out that the lower productivity in Haryana was the result of relatively less availability of irrigation.

Harvesting of mustard was over in March while that of other crops is in full swing and would be completed by April-end. The FCI and Hafed are the major procurement agencies in Haryana.

The state government has now amended the Contract Farming Act, which has been sent for the president's approval. This would enable farmers to sell their produce directly to the wheat-based industry.