Labour shortage threatens soybean harvest in Amravati as farmers fear losses from delay
Farmers in Amravati, already hit by a dry spell and rising costs, say they cannot find workers to harvest soybean that is ready to be cut.
The rains took a long break this year, and farmers in many areas have had to bear the brunt of drought. They still raised a soybean crop. Now, at the peak of the harvest season, they face a fresh problem: a shortage of labourers. Workers are hard to find, and farmers are growing anxious.
Water was scarce, the cost of cultivation kept rising and conditions were against them. Farmers struggled hard to save the crop. They had to spend extra to keep it alive on the water available. Production is expected to be low anyway. The lack of harvest labour has made matters worse.
Soybean is ready for harvest in many fields. But with too few workers available, the harvest is not happening on time. If it is delayed, the pods can burst and the grain can scatter on the ground. This puts the standing crop at direct risk of loss. With yields already feared to fall because of the drought, losses from delay will be even more serious for farmers.
Farmers say a crop raised through a full year of effort is about to come into their hands. They say the administration should step in immediately so that it does not lie in the field and go to waste for want of labour alone. They are demanding that the agriculture department assess the situation village by village and make available the machines needed for harvesting. Their hope is simply that even if the drought cuts production, the ready crop is not ruined for lack of harvesting.
On one side, the lack of rain has hit production. On the other, the cost of farming has gone up and now labourers cannot be found for the harvest. The farmer is thus caught in a threefold financial crisis. If the ready crop is not brought out of the field in time, there is a fear that a year's labour will go to waste.
Given how serious the labour shortage is, farmers want the government and the agriculture department to provide harvesters and other harvesting machines immediately. They demand that available machines be given to them at lower rates. They also want harvesting machines arranged village by village and a special campaign run to bring the ready soybean out of the fields on time.
