Paddy DSR Improves but Remains Short of Target; Grain Storage Issue Looms Large

June

2026

Panjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said the state has recorded a 16% increase in the adoption of Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) this monsoon season. 26,896 farmers have brought 341K acres under DSR, which is a water-saving cultivation method. The expansion is higher than in 2025 when 25,853 farmers adopted DSR across 293K acres. However, the state is still falling short of its target of 500K acres. But the paddy sowing season continues up to mid-July and the numbers may improve. Meanwhile, foodgrain storage godowns in Panjab are currently choked to the brim with 15 MMT tonnes of rice remaining from the previous three seasons. Also, 5.4 MMT of paddy temporarily kept in mills is waiting to be shelled, which will add an additional 3.6 MMT of rice, and will worsen the storage crisis. The state food department asked the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to move 1.2 MMT of rice every month, but the FCI is only moving 500K MMT. Principal Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies Rahul Tiwari said, 'After the covered godowns with 18.3 MMT capacity, we have Covered Area Plinths storage of nearly 6 MMT capacity, which has also been occupied.' Alongside, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has developed a new seed packaging system where for small-seeded vegetable crops, such as brinjal, tomato, and cauliflower, seeds can be directly planted without removing the cover. The new system has been developed to benefit small-scale gardening, especially in urban households. Furthermore, the Panjab government has issued charge sheets against seven key officers and transferred one in connection with alleged irregularities in the supply of subsidized agricultural-grade urea being supplied in place of technical grade urea. Concurrently, the largest farmer union in Panjab, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) took out a flag march in Amritsar on 26 Jun to protest against the proposed India-US Free Trade Agreement, rising prices of petrol, diesel, cooking gas, shortage of urea, fertilizer, and the increasing cost of living. Agrarian rights activist, Dr. Parminder Singh Pandori Waraich, alleged that India was passing through a serious economic crisis, and accused the union government of imposing an additional financial burden on ordinary citizens in the name of national security, and war, while extending concessions to large corporate houses (earlier coverage).