Paddy crop destroyed on nearly 2 lakh hectares in Punjab
18-Sep-2025 02:02 PM
Chandigarh. Although Punjab, the state that contributes the largest amount of food grains to the central pool, is expected to suffer significant losses to other Kharif crops, including paddy, due to excessive rainfall and severe floods this year, government officials believe that rice production will only decline marginally.
According to official sources, although floods and rains have damaged paddy crops on approximately 2 lakh hectares in Punjab, the crop is in good condition in areas that have received normal rainfall or have not been severely affected by natural disasters, and rice yields are expected to increase. This will not significantly reduce the total rice and rice production.
According to official data, Punjab produced a total of 143.60 lakh tonnes of rice, including Basmati, during the 2024-25 season. According to the Agriculture Department, non-Basmati rice crops are more likely to suffer losses than Basmati rice because they are cultivated in areas near rivers, where floods are most severe this time.
However, the area under rice cultivation in Punjab has increased slightly during the current Kharif season compared to last year.
Debris and sand inundating fields in flood-affected areas is likely to impact the sowing of Rabi crops. The Punjab government has requested financial assistance from the central government to remove this debris.
The central government has set a target of purchasing 463.50 lakh tons of rice nationally for the 2025-26 Kharif marketing season. Paddy procurement is scheduled to begin next month.
The target for the 2024-25 Kharif marketing season was 511.60 lakh tons, while actual procurement reached only 474 lakh tons.
Punjab contributed 11.61 million tons, Chhattisgarh 7.8 million tons, Uttar Pradesh 3.87 million tons, Madhya Pradesh 2.92 million tons, and West Bengal 1.99 million tons. In addition, government procurement of paddy and rice was also carried out in several other states, including Haryana, Telangana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar.