Further scaling up efforts to contain coronavirus, Punjab Government on Thursday issued advisory for farmers and combine operators for safe farming practices in the wake of the pandemic. Spokesperson said that though the coronavirus survives on environmental surfaces for a varied period of time, it gets easily inactivated by chemical disinfectants. He said that correct and timely information and sensitization about preventive measures is the key to control pandemic. Reiterating the State Government’s firm commitment for safety of farmers, spokesperson added that the Government issued advisory for farmers and combine operators to know them do and don’ts in this period of crisis.
The advisory stated that farmers should prefer mechanized practices over manual exercises to the possible extent. Only the limited numbers of persons should be allowed to accompany harvesters, and all harvesters should be sanitized at the entry point of the field and in regular intervals during harvesting, it added.
“All the persons engaged in the operations should use cloth masks at all the times and ensure handwashing with soap at regular intervals. The masks shall be worn in a manner that it tightly covers the nose as well as the mouth. Apart from this, the mask should be properly washed with soap or detergent immediately after usage,” said the spokesperson.
The advisory stated that farmers should always maintain and ensured that social distancing of at least one metre is maintained by all engaged labourers at the time of rest, taking meals, transfer of produce at collection points and loading or unloading etc. In case of manual field operations of harvesting or picking, the farmer should accomplish operation in four to five feet spaced strips assigning one strip to one person so as to ensure adequate spacing between the engaged labours shall be maintained.
Spokesperson said that government also advised farmers that stagger field operations wherever possible and avoid engaging more number of persons on the same day and also engage only familiar persons to a limited extent as possible after logically enquired about their details of journey and places to avoid any transmission of Covid-19 virus. The state government also recommended that farmers, combine operators and labourers involved in harvesting should immediately sanitize their hands after transacting cash and advised them to use online transactions methods wherever possible.
The operator while mounting or dismounting vehicle should use disposable gloves and should immediately wash hands after completion of mounting or dismounting exercise. The operator should avoid unnecessary halts and contacts during the journey.
Special preference should be given to indoor areas including the inside of the combine, seats, gears etc. and these areas should be cleaned every evening and early in the morning before starting harvesting. Prior to cleaning, the workers should wear disposable rubber boots, gloves (heavy duty), and a cloth mask.