Gurdaspur/Amritsar: Harjit Singh’s dreams of a bumper paddy harvest literally became dirt when he saw his almost 17-hectare farm submerged in the worst floods Punjab has suffered since 1988.
“I had invested more than Rs 4 lakh during the sowing season this year. Sari fasal kharab ho gayi (the whole crop has been destroyed). For the last week, the fields were under knee-deep water. How will the crops survive?” asked Singh, showing ThePrint his devastated fields in Jatta Pind in the Ramdas area of Amritsar, a few kilometers from the India-Pakistan border.
Singh is not the only farmer devastated by the flood in Punjab this year. Farmers across the state have suffered immense losses; now there are concerns over how the floods will hit paddy output this season and if it could impact the Centre’s Public Distribution System (PDS). Punjab is one of the biggest contributors to the PDS.
Agricultural economists are also worried about the impact on paddy prices. This flood came just ahead of the Kharif season, when, this year, Punjab recorded the maximum area under paddy cultivation at about 32.46 lakh hectares, including 6.80 lakh hectares of Basmati, according to the Punjab Agriculture department data.
On 4 September, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the flood-affected regions. The Modi government has already dispatched two high-level teams to the state to evaluate the situation. The teams comprise officials from the agriculture, rural development, roads, finance, Jal Shakti, and Energy departments.
“There is a flood situation in Punjab. Crops have been destroyed and ruined. In this hour of crisis, the central government stands with the people and farmers of Punjab. Now we need to work in a planned manner to rebuild the flood-affected areas. Short-term, medium-term and long-term plans will have to be made to bring Punjab out of this crisis,” Chouhan wrote on X.
पंजाब में बाढ़ की जो परिस्थितियां हैं, उससे आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री जी अत्यंत चिंतित हैं । उन्हीं के निर्देश पर मैं वहां के हालात समझने पंजाब गया था।
पंजाब में जलप्रलय की स्थिति है। फसलें तबाह और बर्बाद हो गई हैं। संकट की इस घड़ी में केंद्र सरकार पंजाब की जनता और किसानों के साथ खड़ी… pic.twitter.com/zSjfttbvh6
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) September 5, 2025
Amritsar one of the hardest-hit districts
In Amritsar district, approximately 2.10 lakh hectares is under cultivation, and a significant part of it grows paddy during the kharif season.
“This year, of the total cultivated area (in Amritsar district), farmers have sown basmati rice varieties in 1.40 lakh hectares and non-basmati in 40,000 hectares. Our preliminary assessment indicates that over 70,000 hectares have been impacted by floodwaters,” said Baljinder Singh Bhullar, chief agriculture officer of Amritsar, in an interview with ThePrint.
Singh said a comprehensive evaluation of the situation was possible only once the floodwaters recede. “However, if the water persists in the fields for more than a week, there is a risk of total crop loss. Prolonged water exposure leads to crop decay,” he explained, noting that the extent of the affected area suggested significant losses.
Across Punjab, at least 4 lakh hectares under paddy cultivation is flooded, according to initial estimates.
Districts most severely impacted in Punjab include Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Moga, Kapurthala, and Mansa. These regions are bordered by three rivers—Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—which are currently flowing above danger levels and overflowing due to the excessive rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
Punjab always a big contributor to PDS
Punjab cultivates rice in over 3.2 million hectares, representing 64% of the state’s total geographical area. On a national scale, Punjab contributes 12% to the overall rice production and plays a significant role in the contribution to India’s PDS.
Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts are well-known for their high-value Basmati varieties. Other significant paddy-producing districts include Ludhiana, Patiala, Ferozepur, and Sangrur. This year, aromatic paddy varieties occupied 6,81,000 hectares, with nearly 2,65,000 hectares (approximately 40%) planted in Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, and Pathankot.
The paddy yield in Punjab has seen an increase over the past decade. This trend continues despite rising concerns and calls for diversification to preserve groundwater resources. Despite the floods in 2023, farmers managed to produce 210 LMT (lakh metric tonne), up from 205 LMT in 2022.
Punjab is the third-highest rice-producing state in the nation, and produced 11.82 million tonnes in 2024-25, according to the Indian Rice Exporters’ Federation.
But what happens this year?
“Even if some crops manage to survive, their quality will be compromised. Furthermore, once the floodwaters recede, the likelihood of fungal infection will increase,” Bhullar explained.
“A poor harvest will inevitably impact both production and procurement this year,” stated Buta Singh Dhillon, an agronomist at the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU). He noted that this year the floods were worse than they were in 2023.
He explained that the varieties of paddy grown in Punjab do not do well if submerged for long. “In view of the flooding, PAU has issued guidance to mitigate damage to various crops once the water recedes,” remarked Singh.
Reminders of 1988 & 2023
Punjab has seen many floods, but in the collective memory of its residents, 1988 was the worst experience. But Singh says the recent floods have probably caused more damage.
In 2023, more than 1,400 villages across 10 districts were impacted. According to a study by PAU titled ‘Punjab Floods 2023: Causes, Impacts and Learnings,’ approximately 2.21 lakh hectares of cultivated land, primarily paddy fields, were damaged.
During the last kharif season, around 172 LMT of paddy was procured from farmers in Punjab, as stated in a December 2024 announcement by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. This figure represents the lowest procurement since 2020, when the Centre procured 204.83 LMT.
Nevertheless, many experts feel the damage to paddy crops in Punjab will not cause a national imbalance.
“The central pool has been carrying excessive stock of rice for several years. The Punjab flood may only have minor impact on the central pool this year,” said Siraj Hussain, former agriculture secretary of India, adding that if the fields remain waterlogged for several days, rice production will definitely decrease.
“The government has been wrongly following the policy of giving rice from FCI stocks for ethanol. Continuing that policy may not be possible due to the damage to the rice crop in Punjab,” he said.
The Modi administration sanctioned 2.8 million tonnes of FCI rice for ethanol production in 2024-25 as part of the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) initiative.
Hussain also highlighted the absence of crop insurance policy schemes in Punjab. “Punjab has never participated in the crop insurance scheme. It is time to reconsider the decision as the Union government provides large subsidy under the scheme,” he said.
Devinder Sharma, an agriculture expert based in Mohali, said, crops such as sugarcane may recover from this situation, but paddy will not. “This will result in an increase in crop prices,” he added, emphasising that it is too early to determine the extent of the losses.
‘Not giving up hope’
But despite the devastation, Punjab farmers have not given up. They are waiting to sow a late-season Kharif crop of paddy once the water recedes.
Manjit Singh, a resident of Ajnala tehsil in Amritsar, lost paddy on his 2-hectare farm. “I am awaiting the girdawari (harvest inspection) by the revenue department. Following the assessment, perhaps the government will provide some compensation for our losses,” he said.
“If the government offers any compensation, I will replant my fields to generate some income. There are no other alternatives,” Manjit remarked. Many are waiting for the ‘girdawari’ process, but it is yet to start.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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