Combine harvesters from Punjab much in demand in Jammu

Combine harvesters from Punjab much in demand in Jammu
Archit Watts/TNS

Agra Chak (RS Pura), May 6
The combine harvesters used in Punjab are in much demand by wheat farmers of the Jammu region and have made the manual harvesting a thing of the past.

Besides the less cost involved in harvesting and thrashing of the wheat crop with a combine harvester, the scarcity of farm labourers and the easy availability of these modern farming equipment are the main factors behind this sudden change in the technique of wheat harvesting here.

Earlier the labourers, especially from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, were easily available in Jammu, but now the labourers demanded more wages and were hardly available. That is why the farmers here were adopting the modern harvesting technique used by their counterparts in Punjab.

The Tribune team, while touring the fields in Bishnah, RS Pura, Kathua and Samba districts in Jammu, came across a large number farmers using the combine harvesters.

“The shortage of farm labourers was affecting wheat harvesting. We adopted the latest technique so that the produce could be sold on time,” said Harbans Singh, a farmer from Agra Chak village in the RS Pura area here.

He added that, “Though the new technique of harvesting saves cost, we lose ‘toori’ (wheat straw) after using this technique, which is also used as fodder for the cattle.”

Farmers in this belt do not have much green fodder to feed their cattle. So earlier they were reluctant to use this technique, as by using combine harvesters the wheat straw got wasted.

There is another major reason for the delay in use of this technique, as the farmers here do not have large agriculture land. Balbir, another farmer of Dablehar village, said, “The combine harvester owners have their camp offices in different rural areas and are easily approachable. So most of the farmers are harvesting their crop with combine harvesters.”

Harbans Singh, an owner of a combine harvester, who had come here from Sangrur in Punjab, said, “We charge Rs 800 per acre for wheat harvesting, but the traditional method of harvesting the wheat crop costs three times more than the cost of using combine harvester”. The farm labourers charge Rs 2,400-Rs 2,700 per acre for wheat harvesting with the traditional method.