Sanskriti Talwar

Kavitha Iyer

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Baldev Kaur, 70, picked her way
through the remains of what was once the house her family had built on their
farmland. Large cracks ran down the walls of the rooms that still stood.  



“When the rain and hail slammed
the roof, all of us spent the night wide awake. We were not sure what was
happening,” said Baldev, a grey-haired woman dressed in a cotton salwar kameez, her dupatta covering her head. “Then in the morning, when water began
leaking through the roof, we all ran outside.”




As the sun came out, the house
began to crumble, said Baldev’s younger daughter-in-law, Amandeep Kaur, 26. “Sare paase ghar hi paat gaya. [The house
shattered all around us],” said Baljinder Singh, 35, Baldev’s eldest son. 



Baldev Kaur and her family of
seven, including three children, had never witnessed such devastation before.
Untimely rains in late March 2023 accompanied by a hailstorm left crops and
homes destroyed in their village of Bhalaiana in Sri Muktsar Sahib district’s
Gidderbaha block. This region of south-western Punjab shares a border with
Rajasthan to the south and Haryana to the east.



As rain and hail continued over
three days, Baljinder was a troubled man. They had borrowed Rs. 6.5 lakh from
an arthiya (agricultural produce
agent) to rent 10 acres of farmland in addition to the family-owned 5 acres.
Without their wheat crop, there was neither sustenance for the family nor a way
to repay the loan.  



“The
crop that had begun ripening was first ruined by the hailstorm. Then when it
rained, the entire field was waterlogged for days. The water had nowhere to go,
and the crop continued rotting in it,” Baljinder said. “Even now the crop lies
flattened in the 15 acres of land,” Baljinder said in mid-April.

Wheat is a rabi crop in these parts, sown between October and December.
The months of February and March are crucial for the development of the grain
when the kernel starts accumulating starch and protein. 



Between March 24 and 30, Punjab received 33.8 mm of rain, as against the
monthly normal of 22.2 mm for March, according to the India Meteorological
Department, Chandigarh. Nearly 30 mm of rain was <a href="https://www.pau.edu/content/agromet/3.pdf">recorded</a> on
March 24 alone, as per data compiled by the Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana. 



While Baljinder knew the
unseasonal rain and hail were a body blow to their crop, the damage to the
house, which the family had constructed over the years, was an additional
tragedy. 



“Whenever I come from outside,
just looking at our house fills my heart with worry. Ji ghabranda hai [I feel anxious],” Baldev Kaur said. 



The family estimated their farm
losses at over Rs. 6 lakh. Where an acre yields 60 mann (a mann is 37 kg)
of wheat, they would now harvest 20 mann per
acre. The rebuilding of the house would be an additional expenditure, and an
urgent one as summer set in. 



“Kudrat karke [It&#39;s all because of
nature],” said Baljinder.

Unpredictable climate patterns
were a source of fear for farmers, said Gurbhakt Singh, 64, also of Bhalaiana
village and an activist of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan). “It is happening
because of the wrong policies of the government. If the government fixes a rate
for other crops, then we’ll grow those as well, instead of water-intensive
crops such as paddy,” he said. 



Among the major demands of the
Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farm unions, is a law assuring a
minimum support price (MSP) for all crops. Farm unions in Punjab held a demonstration
in Delhi in March 2023 to press for such a law.



Gurbhakt’s youngest son, Lakhwinder Singh, said that
along with their crop, the turi, a
dry cattle fodder made from wheat stubble, was also damaged. Gurbhakt Singh’s
family suffered a loss of Rs. 6 lakh to Rs. 7 lakh. They too have a Rs. 7 lakh
loan taken from an arthiya at an
interest rate of Rs. 1.5 on every Rs. 100 per crop season. A previous loan of
Rs. 12 lakh was taken from the bank after mortgaging the family’s landholding,
at an interest rate of 9 per cent. 



They
had hoped to clear some outstandings with earnings from the rabi crop, but that
was now impossible. “The hail was the size of a pendu ber [Indian jujube],” Gurbhakt said.

When PARI met Boota Singh, 28, of Buttar Bakhua village in April 2023,
he was trying to cope with severe insomnia brought on by untimely and excessive
rain. 



A farmer from Gidderbaha block in Sri Muktsar
Sahib district, he has with seven acres of family-owned land and has taken
another 38 acres on lease to cultivate wheat. All 45 acres were now inundated,
along with at least 200 acres of low-lying farmland in the village. Boota Singh had
a loan of Rs. 18 lakh, taken from an
arthiya, to be repaid at an interest rate of Rs. 1.5 for every Rs. 100.

His family of six, including
his parents, wife and two children, depend on their agricultural income. 



“We hoped that with the days
getting hotter, the field would dry, and we would be able to harvest the crop,”
he said. The mechanical harvester cannot be operated on a soggy field. However,
by the time the fields dried, much of the crop was destroyed.



It is also more expensive to
harvest a flattened crop—rent for the mechanical harvester is Rs. 1,300 per
acre for erect crop, and Rs. 2,000 per acre if the crop is bent over.



These stressors were keeping
Boota awake at night. On April 17, he visited a doctor in Gidderbaha who told him he had high blood
pressure and prescribed him medication.  



Words such as ‘tension’ and
‘depression’ were common among the region’s farmers. 



“Depression
tah paenda hi hai. Upset vala kaam hunda hai [One does get depressed and
upset],” said Gurpal Singh, 40, of Buttar Bakhua village, while pumping out
rainwater from his six-acre farmland. If they save nothing after every six-month
season of farming, the effect on their mental health is natural, Gurpal said.

Kiranjit Kaur, 27, an activist who set up the Kisan Mazdoor Khudkushi
Peedit Parivar Committee, an organisation to support families of farm suicide
victims in Punjab, said a growing number of farmers reported experiencing
anxiety. “It is a complete loss for a small-scale farmer, who owns not more
than 5 acres of land if the crop fails. As such farmers and their families are
left with interest to pay on loans taken, it affects their mental health
seriously. That is why we see suicides among farmers.” Kiranjit said there is a
need for mental health support for farmers and their families, to prevent them
from being drawn to substance abuse or drastic measures. 



Some farmers had experienced
the vagaries of the climate in previous harvest seasons too. In September 2022,
paddy was harvested with much difficulty due to the untimely rains in
September, said Boota. The previous rabi season had been too hot, causing the
wheat grain to shrink. 



For this current season, he
said, “Waddhi di aas ghat hai [The hope
of harvesting the crop is low]. Even if we manage to harvest it in coming days,
no one will buy it since the grain will be blackened by then.”



Dr. Prabhyjot Kaur Sidhu, principal scientist (agrometeorology) at
Punjab Agricultural University, said normal or below normal temperatures in
February and March were considered good for the wheat grain.



While the 2022 rabi season saw lower wheat production due
to higher temperatures in these
months, the rainfall in March and April 2023 along with winds at speeds of 30
km/hr - 40 km/hr led to low productivity again. “When it rains with high
velocity winds, the wheat plants fall down, a process called lodging. The plant
stands back with the increasing temperature, but that failed to happen in
April,” said Dr. Sidhu. “That’s why the grain could not develop, and the
harvesting couldn’t be carried out in April. This again led to low wheat
productivity. In some districts of Punjab where it rained but without winds the
productivity has been better.”



The untimely rain in late March should be seen
as an extreme weather episode, according to Dr. Sidhu.

By May, Boota managed to
harvest 20 mann (or 7.4 quintal) of
wheat per acre of land, against an expected 20-25 quintals. Gurbhakt Singh’s
yield was between 20 mann and 40 mann per acre, while Baljinder Singh
recorded 25 mann to 28 mann per acre. 



Depending on the quality of the
grain, Boota received Rs. 1,400 per quintal to Rs. 2,000 per quintal, against
the MSP of Rs. 2,125 per
quintal for wheat in 2023 as per the <a href="https://fci.gov.in/procurements.php?view=89">Food Corporation of India</a>. Gurbhakt and Baljinder sold their wheat at the MSP. 



This was following a ‘value
cut’ set by the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution
after the crop damage from the rains. It varied between Rs. 5.31 to Rs. 31.87
per quintal on grain that was shrivelled and broken. In addition, a value cut
of Rs. 5.31 per quintal was imposed on grains that had lost their lustre.  



The Punjab government announced
a relief of Rs. 15,000 per acre for farmers who had suffered damage to at least
75% of the crop. For losses between 33% to 75% of the crop, farmers were given
Rs. 6,800 per acre.  



Boota received Rs. 2 lakh as
compensation from the government. “It is a slow process. I am yet to receive
the full compensation,” he said. According to him, he should be compensated Rs.
7 lakh so as to repay the loan. 



Gurbhakt
and Baljinder were yet to receive any compensation.

An owner of 15 acres of land,
Baldev Singh, 64, of Buttar Bakhua village had also taken a loan of Rs. 5 lakh from an arthiya to lease 9 acres of land. He
pumped out water for nearly a month, burning 15 litres of diesel everyday. 



After the long spell of
inundation, Baldev Singh’s wheat fields turned black and brown, with a fungus
from the rotting crop. Ploughing it would release a stench that would make
people fall sick, he said. 



“Maatam varga mahaul si [the atmosphere at home is like a funeral],”
Baldev said about his family of 10. The harvest festival of Baisakhi which marks the beginning of a
new year went by without any celebrations. 



To Baldev, the crop damage felt
like he himself had been uprooted. “I couldn’t leave the land like this,” he
said. “It’s not as if our children are finding jobs after completing their
education.” These circumstances drive farmers to take their lives or leave the
country, he said. 



For now, Baldev Singh has
reached out to farmers in the extended family for support. He has taken turi from them to feed his livestock,
and also grain for his family. 



“We are zamindars only in name,” he said.

In Punjab: crop losses, anxiety and debt

پنجاب: فصلوں کا نقصان، ذہنی تناؤ اور قرض کا بوجھ

పంట నష్టాలు, అప్పులతో ఆందోళనలో పంజాబ్‌ రైతులు

பயிர் நஷ்டம், கவலை, கடன்

ପଞ୍ଜାବରେ ଫସଲହାନି, ଉଦ୍‌ବେଗ ଏବଂ ଋଣଭାର

पंजाबमध्ये पिकाचं नुकसान, चिंता आणि कर्जाचा डोंगर

പഞ്ചാബിൽ: കൃഷിനാശവും ആകാംക്ഷയും കടബാധ്യതയും

ಪಂಜಾಬ್:‌ ಬೆಳೆನಷ್ಟ, ಆತಂಕ ಮತ್ತು ಸಾಲ

पंजाब: फ़सलों की तबाही व क़र्ज़ की दोहरी मार झेलते किसान

પંજાબમા: નિષ્ફળ ગયેલો પાક, ચિંતા અને દેવાનો બોજ

पंजाब: बरबाद फसल अऊ करजा के मार

पंजाब: फसल चउपट होखे से करजा, चिंता आ अवसाद में डूबल किसान

পঞ্জাব: ফসল হানি, ঋণের বোঝা আর উদ্বেগ

পাঞ্জাৱত শস্যৰ ক্ষতি, ঋণ আৰু উদ্বিগ্নতা

ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਕਿਸਾਨੀ: ਇੱਕ ਮੁੱਠੀ ਚੁੱਕ ਲੈ, ਦੂਜੀ ਤਿਆਰ

Bhalaiana, Gidderbaha

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In Punjab: crop losses, anxiety and debt

In Sri Muktsar Sahib district, the impact of climate change is clear and present: two consecutive rabi crops have been devastated by untimely rains and hailstorms. Both livelihoods and homes have taken a hit

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