The Center has released its first advance estimate for the Kharif (autumn) season, predicting a record food grain harvest of 164M metric tonnes (MT) in the 2024-25 crop year, an increase of 8.9M MT over last year’s production. Kharif rice production is expected to reach a record high of 119M MT, up by 6.6M MT from last year. Despite this, in Panjab, issues have arisen regarding the PR-126 paddy variety promoted by the Panjab govt. to conserve groundwater. According to Punjab Agricultural University, PR-126 is superior in yield potential and requires significantly less water — 4K liters per kg compared to 5K-6K liters for traditional varieties like PUSA-44. But, unauthorized hybrid seeds sold as PR-126 have caused issues with lower yields and increased breakage. This has affected the quality of rice sent from Panjab to Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Assam, and Karnataka. The rice has been found ‘unfit for human consumption’ or ‘beyond rejection limit’, prompting the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to write to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) on 13 Nov asking them to check the quality of grains stored in Sangrur, Jalandhar, and Nabha FCI districts in Panjab and to remove unfit stocks. Meanwhile, farmers in Haryana and Panjab are facing a significant shortage of DAP (DiAmmonium phosphate), a key fertilizer used for sowing wheat, leading to concerns over potential delays in wheat cultivation and reduced yields (SDW Vol 2, Issue 37, Story 4). Amidst these crises’, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released its Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2024 report revealing that Indian farmers were taxed USD 120B in 2023 due to export bans, duties, and other policies.
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