Punjab’s bumper effort comes a cropper

Punjab farmers overcame drought to produce a bumper crop, but they are not smiling. Reason: Food Corporation of India (FCI) has
rejected the newly-evolved eco-friendly paddy seed they used.

Taking exception, Punjab has sought the prime minister's intervention. The state feels FCI is sending a wrong signal. In spite of unusual drought conditions, the state notched up a record paddy production at 141 lakh metric tonnes, thanks largely to PAU 201, a seed newly-evolved by the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU). But the Centre refused to accept the produce terming it “damaged rice”.

While farmers have been up in arms in many parts of the state, senior PAU scientists termed the FCI decision “ridiculous and preposterous”. They said the black tinge because of which FCI was calling the grain “damaged” was because of high iron content. They said the seed had been evolved under the aegis of the All-India Council of Agriculture Research and was “perfectly healthy for consumption”.

Senior agriculture officers said more than 40 lakh metric tonnes of produce was attributed to PAU 201. They said prior to the introduction of the new seed in the market, Punjab had taken approval of the Union agriculture ministry. Being eco-friendly, the seed consumes less water and yields almost one-and-a-half times more per acre.

“It was primarily due to the introduction of the new seed that the state touched an all-time high of 141 lakh metric tonnes in paddy production this year as against the target of 125 lakh metric tonnes,” agriculture director RS Sandhu said. But FCI’s refusal to lift stocks has put farmers on the mat and generated resentment among scientists, he said.

Last month, the state government wrote a strong letter to the Centre seeking intervention to resolve the stalemate. This prompted the Union agriculture ministry to send a high-powered team to paddy mandis of Punjab last week for collecting samples.
“The samples would be referred to the Union health ministry for verification of the alleged iron content. If approved, FCI might accept the produce. Otherwise, it would result in a serious crisis,” Sandhu said.