Paddy Procurement Severely Impacted; Uttar Pradesh Tops in Stubble Fires

The Panjab Agriculture Department has reported that heavy rains in parts of Panjab from 4-8 Oct caused delays in paddy crop harvesting and procurement. Data shows procurement remains sluggish, with just 1.05MT of paddy procured till 9 Oct—less than 6% of the 17-18 MT the state expects to purchase in the monsoon marketing season 2025-26. Seven teams consisting of 200 government officers, including those from departments of food supply, grain markets, and police, have started checking truck bills and other documents to verify details of vehicles entering Panjab from other states to prevent bogus purchases and illegal recycling of paddy and rice during the ongoing procurement season. Given the large-scale destruction of crops due to floods and then rains, farmers are waiting for the union government to relax the Fair Average Quality specifications for high moisture and discolored grains to prevent them from incurring further financial losses. Given advancement in date for sowing paddy in Jun for this season, paddy procurement season was advanced from the traditional 1 Oct to 15 Sep. However, the floods and rain have set back the procurement. According to data released by Indian Agricultural Research Institute, low paddy harvest in Panjab has also meant lesser incidents of stubble fires. Between 15 Sep and 10 Oct Uttar Pradesh has had 121 cases, surpassing Panjab's 102 in the same period. Meanwhile, Panjab has seen a 30% surge in units that convert crop residue into pellets used by industries. These pallets can be used at thermal plants for co-firing, a process involving simultaneous combustion of two different types of fuel in the same boiler, often a mix of coal and a renewable fuel, to reduce carbon emissions and manage agricultural waste simultaneously. An official, name withheld, said, 'As the number of the factories has improved to 23 this time, these units can process 465 KT of paddy stubble. With 43 more units in the pipeline, the capacity of these new plants would be 1.17 MT' (earlier coverage).