Sir,
The decisions of various State Governments to waive off loans of farmer community may give temporary relief to it, but is no remedy for their perennial problems. There is need to formulate a comprehensive policy for them which may take care of their interests and well-being. In this direction, the State Governments must ensure proper irrigation facilities, round the clock electricity, timely availability of seeds, and pesticides and above all an insurance cover to their crops. The Government must end the role of middlemen in purchase and sale of their produce. They are constant source of their misery. Then there is lack of storage facility for these farmers. In India, as many as 83 percent of the farmers are small holders with less than one hectare of land holding. These small holder farms do not have access to cold-storage and have no option but to sell their produce to the middlemen or traders. As farmers do not get proper remuneration for their produce, most of them have started looking for other options of revenue. The educated rural people show no inclination to go for farming. They migrate to urban centers to secure their livelihoods. Unless agriculture is taken care of, this sector will face increasing crisis which will not bode good for the country.
Yours etc….
Hansraj Sharma
Samba
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