Farmers in MP unable to harvest crops due to labour shortage

Several farmers in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district are incurring losses as they are unable to harvest their crops due to shortage of labourers amid the nation-wide COVID-19 lockdown.

According to the farmers, all the labourers are staying home in the wake of the guidelines issued by the government to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

"Last year, our crop was ruined due to natural causes. This year, the crop is ready but no one to harvest it. Many of us are worried that we may lose our crop due to delay in harvesting it," said Sonu, one of the farmers in the district.

Another farmer said that if the crop is not harvested on time, they might not have enough money to feed themselves through the season.

The country is under 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

According to officials, the permission for the harvest machine is being granted to farmers despite the lockdown. However, some farmers have alleged that the benefits of the harvesting machine are not reaching them.

An official said that the harvest machine operators have been directed to work as per the guidelines set by the government.