The extended lockdown, imposed on account of COVID-19, has aggravated the problem of labour shortage in the State’s farm sector.
Articulating this aspect, K.S. Subramanian, director of research & NABARD chair, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), said the problem had led to an adverse impact on threshing of paddy in some areas, raised during the late-Samba cultivation period. Likewise, the “timely harvest” of mango could not be done due to the non-availability of labour.
The manpower shortage has also reflected in the area of transportation of produce, as several drivers are unwilling to drive lorries for the fear of getting infected by the virus, acknowledged Gagandeep Singh Bedi, principal secretary (Agriculture). However, he said the government was adopting a multi-pronged strategy to address the problem of manpower shortage.
As for the general impact of the lockdown on farmers raising other crops, Mr. Subramanian pointed out that banana farmers had abandoned fruits in the fields or sold them at throwaway prices. It was also “painful” to see watermelons being dumped on roadsides, he said.
He said that farmers should take advantage of the infrastructure available by using cold storage in districts. If efforts are intensified for procuring the entire produce, keeping it under cold storage and selling it through regulated market, it will offer “reasonable prices” for both farmers and consumers, he added.
Meanwhile, the TNAU has designated 23 faculty members and assigned them to different districts for advising farmers, according to an official release.
