This has been brought about mainly by declining price realisations in basmati paddy and Bt cotton, the two crops profitable enough to make it worthwhile for farmers to expand acreages.
Jalandhar: Lease rentals on farmlands in Punjab — India’s granary state — have collapsed, providing the clearest indication of an agricultural downturn and farmers choosing to go back to growing parmal paddy in place of high-risk basmati and cotton crops.
Davinder Singh, a farmer from Khuh Raje Wala village in Tarn Taran district, had, in 2014, paid Rs 45,000-50,000 per acre for leasing 100 acres of land. But in 2015, this rate dropped to Rs 36,000 and to Rs 33,000 this year.
In most parts of Punjab, annual charges for leased land have come down by 25-40 per cent since 2014. This has been brought about mainly by declining price realisations in basmati paddy and Bt cotton, the two crops profitable enough to make it worthwhile for farmers to expand acreages.
As a result, farmers have, in the current kharif season, reduced area under both these cash crops and opted, instead, to plant more of parmal paddy varieties.