Early Wheat Arrival Raises Expectations; Farm Fires Burn Hopes

Early arrival of wheat in grain markets has led Panjab's Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs minister Lal Chand Kataruchak to expect about 125 LMT of wheat this harvest season. India's wheat stocks in government godowns have also surged 57% to a three-year high at the start of the new crop year in April. However, the weather in Panjab remains unpredictable. On 19 Apr, a powerful thunderstorm struck Patiala with wind speeds reaching up to 118 km/h followed by rains. The storm caused widespread damage. Amritsar, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Moga, SAS Nagar, and Rupnagar also experienced rains. The wheat lying in the open in grain markets was drenched. On 20 Apr, fire erupted in villages near Zira engulfing many hundreds of acres of fields where either wheat was standing or had just been harvested. In Dhanna Shaheed village, two bikers were caught in flames. Karanpal Singh died on the spot, while Arjun Singh was severely injured and later succumbed to his injuries. In many places fire tenders were either not available or not in working condition. Often these fire tenders are part of convoys of ministers but not available to people. Locals put out the fires on their own. Since the terms of reference of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme) do not suit Panjab’s farmers, the state is not part of the scheme. The unsuitable terms are: scheme is village specific, not farm plot specific; the scheme takes a 10-year average for normal yields, but farmers ask for last year's yield to be taken as benchmark; farm produce lying in grain markets is not covered when that is where the maximum loss takes place; compensation is low INR 5K (USD 60) when a farmer’s average expense on an acre is INR 50K (USD 600). The farmers who lost their harvest are now claiming compensation from the state government.