Why Punjab farmers are crying foul over yield of PR 126 paddy variety?

It is billed as the Punjab Agricultural University’s gift to paddy farmers in a state where groundwater has been depleting to alarming levels. But today, PR 126, a paddy variety developed by PAU, is facing criticism from various quarters—farmers are crying foul over its yield, millers refuse to accept it, while the Leader of Opposition calls its promotion “ill-advised”.

But, PAU representatives assert it is not the rice variety, but the hybrids sold in Punjab in the name of PR 126 that have caused mass confusion and anxiety in the paddy market.

Rice procurement in Punjab has been delayed this year. Farmers report not getting Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their paddy crop, as it lies rotting in mandis (marketplaces) across the state. Rice millers allege that the out-turn ratio (amount of rice procured from a quintal of paddy) is skewed. While the government offers MSP on 67 percent for PR 126 rice per quintal, millers claim the OTR is not any better than 64 percent.

An agronomist in PAU says anxieties around yield and outturn ratio are inflated, the central issue vis-à-vis rice procurement this year. “Hybrid varieties in the market are just about 5 to 6 percent (of PR 126) At the core of the issue is the state’s failure to ensure sufficient storage capacity in warehouses. Rest is noise,” an agronomist with expertise on paddy told ThePrint.

In a study conducted in October, the PAU found that the out-turn ratio remains unchanged at 67 percent. Another study in October by PAU found that hybrid seeds, which have a 40 percent lower yield as compared to the government approved PR 126, were sold to the farmers as this paddy variety.

Shorter duration crop

Introduced in 2009 by the PAU, PR 126 is a shorter duration crop and takes 123 days to mature as opposed to PUSA 44 which takes 160 days. PAU has earlier claimed that planting PR 126, instead of PUSA 44, can save up to 7 billion cubic metres of water consumption in the state as well as power worth Rs 730 crore.

The rice variety has been accepted and planted by farmers all over Punjab. In 2023, PR 126 accounted for 33 percent of total non-basmati variety paddy grown by Punjab’s farmers. This year, sources at PAU say, it can cross 44 percent.

“When the state approved PR 126 in 2016, it was done in the presence of a committee that included the director of agriculture, Punjab, as well as the president of the rice millers association. The milling was done on the spot, after which the agriculture department carried out a notification and finally PR 126 was certified,” an agronomist (Same expert or another one? (Same) says, requesting anonymity due to the political sensitivity of the issue.

“There’s a lot of faith in the PAU. So, we develop and provide breeder seeds to different agencies. Currently, we have 1500 tonnes of rice seeds, 20,000 for wheat. Other than this, we have breeder seeds for maize, cotton, oil seeds and other crops as well. PR-126 is not a new variety. It is in its 9th year.”

Rice millers say they’re helpless about identifying the original from hybrid. “We can’t see the paddy and know if it’s PR-126 or hybrid. All we know is that there’s a lot of breakage and that the yield we are getting is not 67 percent,” Shamlal Dalewal, president of rice millers association, Mansa district, says.

Rajinder Singh, director of seeds at PAU, explains to ThePrint how seeds are distributed in the state to explain how hybrids can penetrate the market.

“First, we make a foundation seed, which is further divided into breeder seed and then finally certified seed. These seeds are given to the government and private organisations to multiply. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) also helps allot the seeds to various players to multiply,” Singh says. “Other than PAU, other government, semi-government as well as private players also provide seeds to farmers.”

Singh emphasises that PR 126 is not a ‘hybrid’, it is a ‘variety’, and that hybrids of PR 126 can be made by crossing it with the parent seed of another variety.

“Private companies have their own R&D, and they’re not completely transparent about their processes. They don’t always tell people what is the parental line for their seeds,” the PAU official says, questioning the ethics of private players in the market.

Furthermore, PAU representatives said the university has no control over what is there in the market, and add that gullible farmers could have bought hybrid variety seeds while believing they’ll give the same yield as PR 126.

Far away from the agricultural university, the agony of Lal Singh, a farmer in Mansa, at a mandi encapsulates the helplessness of his ilk caught in the mess. “Why won’t they buy it? This has never happened! I just want to know why they won’t buy it!” an exasperated Singh says.