DW BUREAU / Chandigarh With the labour cost for crop transplantation doubling due to the exodus of migrant workers amid the coronavirus crisis, Punjab is expecting about ten-fold jump in paddy area sown with the direct seeding rice method, a low labour-intensive option. Punjab has proposed to bring about five lakh hectares, out of total 27 lakh hectares of expected paddy area this year, under the direct seeding rice (DSR), officials said here. Last year, about 50,000 hectares of total paddy area was brought under the DSR, they said. The state government is encouraging paddy growers to adopt the DSR for crop sowing instead of the traditional method of paddy transplantation. Farm experts said the DSR method not only saves water but also proves to be a solution to the labour shortage which was being felt at this point of time due to the exodus of migrant workers to their native places. "The state government proposes to bring five lakh hectares under the DSR system which does not require intensive labour," Punjab Agriculture Secretary K S Pannu said. Under the DSR method, paddy seeds are drilled into the field with the help of a 'Lucky Seed Drill' machine which does seeding of rice and spray of herbicide simultaneously. If it is not available, then rice can be seeded with rice seed drill having an inclined plate metering mechanism and herbicide should be sprayed immediately after sowing. It saves irrigation water, labour and energy as compared to conventional method of raising rice nursery and then transplanting rice seedlings in a puddled field, said Punjab Agricultural University, Department of Agronomy, M S Bhullar. "It is like mechanized rice cultivation as we do in the case of wheat," Bhullar said. According to the traditional method, first nurseries are raised by farmers and then these are uprooted and transplanted in a puddled field. Moreover, at least three to four labourers per acre are required for transplanting the crop. Labour charges for paddy transplantation have more than doubled to Rs 5,000- 6,000 per acre this year as compared to last year in the wake of labour shortage. Amid coronavirus pandemic, many migrant workers in Punjab have returned to their home states in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, leading to labour shortage here. "Last year, the labour charges for paddy transplantation were Rs 2,500-3,000 per acre and this year, the rates have shot up to Rs Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 an acre," lamented Bhartiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal. He said farmers are adopting the DSR method in a big way. Meanwhile, the state agriculture department has set a target of bringing 27 lakh hectares of area under paddy in the Kharif season. Last year, the area under paddy was 29.30 lakh hectares. The department is also anticipating to shift 2.50 lakh hectares of area from paddy to other crops, officials said. Officials said the rural labour and some migrant labourers working in potato and vegetable fields would be engaged for paddy transplantation this season. Paddy transplantation would start from June 10 in the state. "Although it is a challenging time for intensive agriculture operations caused by COVID-19, the state of Punjab with the active involvement of farmers shall be able to plant paddy as per the target within stipulated time," an official said. (editor@dailyworld.in)