The litchi growers in Punjab staring at huge losses as the farmers are yet to be approached by contractors for their orchards amid a prolonged countrywide lockdown.
In the past, contractors - mostly from outside states, including Uttar Pradesh - used to visit Punjab to take litchi orchards on lease, besides reserving them by paying advances to farmers.
Last year too, litchi growers had suffered huge losses in Punjab, as many videos surfaced on social media, linking the fruit to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES).
At that time, farmers reeled under losses as the litchi's price fell very low.
Arvind Kalra, owner of 85 acres of litchi orchard here, said that till today, only one person from Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur has approached him on phone.
"Such a situation was once seen at the time of operation blue star when ripened fruits were not plucked. Without traders and commission agents, how can we sell our fruits which are perishable items. Lockdown situation brought the harsh situation for farmers like us," he said.
More From This Section
He has litchi orchards in Himachal Pradesh too but he will not be able to go there due to the lockdown.
In Punjab, mainly two varieties of litchi - Dehradun and Calcutta - is grown by nearly 1,100 farmers in few districts, including Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Ropar, covering nearly 3,000 acres of lands.
Around 48 trees are grown in one acres and each tree yields approximately 50 to 100 kg of litchi according to its age, experts said.
Jatinder Singh, horticulture development officer, Pathankot, said that this year, there is a very high yield production but like last year, farmers are facing serious problem.
"The harvesting time of litchi is from June 10 to June 25and in- between, things will be under control to some extent," he noted.
Mostly Punjab's litchi is sold in main vegetables and fruit markets in Delhi and Mumbai, from where it is sent to other states and exported to countries, including UAE, he said.
"We will issue passes soon to outstation traders, middlemen and commission agents and labourers so that farmers don't face any suffering," Jatinder Singh said.
With nearly 12,500 labourers registered to be moved for their native states from Pathankot alone where orchards of litchi have spread over 1,600 acres of land, shortage of workers is another problem for the farmers.
Sukhdev Singh Randhawa of Batala said that he has 17 acres of litchi orchard in Pathankot's Madhopur.
"I am residing in Batala around 90 KM away from my orchards in Madhopur and irrigating litchi tree is very essential for bumper production, otherwise the yield gets damaged. Warden of my orchards mostly from Bihar have already registered to return back to their native village. In coming days, labour shortage will more be a problem, when harvesting time will be at its peak.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
