Page 23 - English Tehelka Issue 12 - June 30, 2018

CoverStory FARM LOAN WAIVERs

one after another to appease the farmers. Bhartiya may frame new rules and revise the existing ones for
Janata Party and Congress in Uttar Pradesh wooed the welfare of agrarian sector but if the beneficiary
the voters during assembly elections on this promise. does not know how to avail it all efforts go waste. You
Same has been done in Karnataka. Rahul Gandhi on can take a horse to water but cannot make him drink.
his recent visit to Madhya Pradesh has also indicated The studies by the researchers tell that the farm-
a bailout package for farmers if voted to power, the ers with lower education are more susceptible to
rhetoric about the debt burden and waivers is not suicides. There are economic and social factors re-
doing the welfare of farmers. The 70,000 crore debt sponsible for the suicides of farmers but uneducat-
waiver announced by the UPA Government in 2008 ed farmers are more prone to jump to conclusions
did not solve the problems of farmers. They are still and cannot think of better alternatives to solve the
sailing in the same boat. problems.
The share of public investment in agriculture in- India is facing a unique case of demand-supply
frastructure has been squeezed in post-liberalised pe- mismatch. The year 2014 and 2015 were the two suc-
riod. The private sector is shy of investing in agricul- cessive years of draughts when the output plunged.
ture because the gestation period is long. So, requisite Next two years 2016 and 2017 recorded good mon-
soon and the output was high but prices crashed
due to higher supplies. The producer suffers in both
India is facing a unique the cases and has no cushion to endure loss of even
one crop. The political parties scout for opportunities
case of demand-supply when the desolate farmers join together to mull solu-
tion to their miseries.
The violence occurred in Mandsur last year when
mismatch. The year the farmers were protesting for sharp decline in on-
2014 and 2015 were the ion price. After so much of bloodbath, not much has
changed in last one year. The prices of onion, garlic
and tomato again crashed in Madhya Pradesh this
two successive years year. Are there any lessons learnt from past mistakes?
In a recent rally by the Congress President Rahul
of draughts when the Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh, the message was clear-
Congress does not want to leave any stone unturned
output plunged to win the political battle in the state.
Farmers from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh held a na-
tionwide 10 day strike and suspended the supplies
of milk, fruits and vegetable from June 1 demanding United ColoUrs
loan waivers, remunerative price and recommen-
doses of public investments are needed to be infused dations of MS Swaminathan Commission. At many
to revive agriculture. place across India farmers organisation organised
Two years of successive draughts can collapse the meetings to mark the first anniversary of Mandsaur of PolitiCos:
rural economy. Irrigation facilities should be ramped killings. It was rolled back at some places but sent
up. Instead of fettering away huge sums as debt-waiv- the message across the country that the problems of
ers (which the deserving farmers get very seldom), farming sector should be seriously dwelt as the farm-
the same amount should be invested in ramping up ers across India are now uniting.
the rural infrastructure. The upcoming general elections and assembly They all are one when iT comes To ignoring The farmer
The Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme is a elections in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh and Madhya
good effort in ameliorating the farmers but there is Pradesh are crucial as the agriculture sector needs
lack of clarity, say the farmers. They also tell that due more than the debt-waivers. Do the policymakers
to diverse weather conditions in the country a uni- and political leaders have their figure on the pulse
form crop insurance is not conducive. and genuine intention to pull out the agriculture sec- The farmer is once again at the centre of attention, even after polls are over in
India’s more than half of population is engaged in tor from the current state of crisis? The rural voters
agriculture and almost 70 per cent of its people live in need to assert and convey the leaders that food pro- Karnataka. A shocked BJP that was piped at the government formation stage by a
rural areas. There is no gain saying that the problems ducer is the backbone of our economy and should not surprise, post-poll alliance of Congress and Janata Dal (S), is now putting pressure on
are tremendous and cannot be solved in one go. But a be brushed aside any more. the HD Kumaraswamy government to come true on its promise of loan waivers for the
close scrutiny of the whole situation reveals that lack
of education is the crux of the issue. The governments letters@tehelka.com farmers of Karnataka, writes lakshmana venkat kuchi

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