Chandigarh, Oct. 29 -- With Punjab suffering from the worst floods in four decades, farmers are staring at losses of nearly Rs.10,000 crore this kharif season. The deluge destroyed crops across 2.97 lakh acres, while a subsequent outbreak of loose smut disease has further hit paddy yield. The food and civil supplies department has slashed its procurement target to 150 lakh tonnes, estimating a 20% drop in grain output. This decline comes despite the area under paddy rising by 1.5 lakh hectares to 32.49 lakh hectares this season.

It is the lowest crop yield in the past nine years since 2016, when the paddy arrival was restricted to 140 lakh tonnes. In the previous five years - 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020, total paddy procured stood a...