Farmers Jittery As Shortage Of Migrant Labourers Delay Paddy Transplantation In Punjab
Migrant labourers are not coming to Punjab this year due to extreme heat and this has put them in trouble, say farmers.
Published : June 11, 2026 at 5:19 PM IST
|Updated : June 11, 2026 at 8:10 PM IST
Chandigarh: The transplantation of paddy, which was expected to take place from the first week of June in Punjab, has been delayed this year due to extreme heat and shortage of migrant labourers.
According to the farmers, migrant labourers are not coming to Punjab this year due to extreme heat and this has put them in trouble. Farmers from various villages of Punjab, who have reached Bathinda railway junction to receive migrant labourers, said the arrival of labourers to Punjab has come down.
Those migrant labourers who come to Punjab go to the same farmers for whom they have been working for many years for transplantation of paddy. This apart, the charges for transplantation of paddy have also increased this year.
Last year, the farmers paid nearly Rs 4,300 along with accommodation and food to the labourers. Now, due to decreased arrival of migrant labourers, the demand has gone up to Rs 5,000 or Rs 5,500 per acre. This apart, the cost of accommodation and food is separate.
Farmers say that if migrant labourers do not return to Punjab in the coming days, they will have to face a major problem as they have already prepared the seedlings.
The Punjab government had given instructions to plant the paddy in the first week of June, due to which the farmers had already prepared the seedlings, farmers said. Now, due to the non-arrival of labourers, the risk of seedlings getting spoiled is looming.
If the arrival of labourers does not increase in the coming days, the farmers will not be able to plant their paddy on time. It is to be noted that many farmers had given advance payment to the migrant labourers so that they could reach Punjab on time and plant the paddy.
Meanwhile, many migrant workers who reached Bathinda railway station said they have been coming to Punjab for a long time. They often go to the same farmer every year to plant paddy, the workers said.
This year, the labourers are charging Rs 5,000 per acre for planting the paddy. This apart, the cost of accommodation and food will also have to be borne by the farm owner. The labourers said they sow up to three acres of paddy in a day and they will stay in Punjab for nearly a month and do paddy sowing.
According to some labourers, inflation is increasing day-by-day. The train ticket which was Rs 100, has now become Rs 130, due to which they have increased the labourer charge as well.
On the other hand, the officials of the agriculture department said that farmers are being motivated towards direct sowing of paddy due to lack of labourers. This not only reduces the time, but also saves water.
"Subsidized machines are also being made available to farmers every year for direct sowing and more awareness are being created among farmers," said chief agriculture officer Harpreet Pal Kaur.
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