Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | For drought-hit farmers, higher compensation still a pittance -Sanyantan Bera

For drought-hit farmers, higher compensation still a pittance -Sanyantan Bera

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Nov 3, 2015   modified Modified on Nov 3, 2015
-Livemint.com

The govt did increase compensation for crop damage to 50% and even relaxed norms for claims but farmers will get less than a fifth of what they have lost to drought

New Delhi:
In April, Narendra Modi announced an increase in compensation for crop damage, a move the prime minister termed as a landmark decision and one that will impose a great burden on his government. His announcement followed unseasonal rain and hailstorms that ravaged India’s winter harvest.

In one stroke, compensation for crop damage from natural disasters, such as unseasonal rain and drought, was hiked by 50%. The norms for claiming compensation were also relaxed. A farmer was now eligible for compensation, if at least 33% of the crop was damaged, lower than the earlier minimum 50% requirement.

The payout, known in bureaucratic parlance as “input subsidy”, is given out of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for which the centre provides 75% of funds.

Under the new rules, the compensation now stands at Rs.6,800 per hectare for rain-fed crops, Rs.13,500 per hectare for irrigated crops, and Rs.18,000 per hectare for perennial horticulture crops.

Sounds generous? In reality, it’s a pittance. Here’s why.

Take case of Madhya Pradesh. On 26 October, it requested central assistance for crop damage in 40 districts because of drought and pest attacks during the kharif crop season this year. The memorandum is a comprehensive 25-page document (Mint has reviewed a copy) that crunches data without losing sight of the acute distress faced by farmers.

According to the state government, more than a third of the crop is damaged in an area spanning 3.58 million hectares. The compensation claimed from the SDRF is Rs.2,390 crore, while the total damage to crops in the state is estimated at Rs.13,846 crore (a total area of 4.4 million hectare is affected).

This implies that farmers will get less than a fifth (17% actually) of what they have lost to drought. That too, only after the centre sends a team to review the situation and releases funds.

This could mean waiting till February or even longer.

Is Madhya Pradesh a stray case? No, the norms for claiming compensation are the same across states. In August, when Karnataka declared a drought in 27 out of 30 districts, it sought central assistance (under the SDRF) of Rs.2,089 crore for an estimated damage of Rs.14,471 crore in over 3.2 million hectares of crop area. At best, farmers will get less than 15% of their losses as compensation.

How much can a farmer expect as compensation?

According to Madhya Pradesh government, more than 2.9 million small and marginal farmers lost their crops in over 2.1 million hectares. This translates into an average land-holding of 0.72 hectare. At the increased compensation rate of Rs.6,800 per hectare this means an average of Rs.4,922 per farmer.

On the lower side, for a farmer holding an acre of land, Rs.2,720 is the maximum compensation.

Growing soybean (Madhya Pradesh has lost half of its crop to drought and pest attacks this year) costs at least Rs.11,000 per acre in seeds, fertilizer, pesticide and labour in rain-fed areas, said Yogesh Dwivedi, head of the Madhya Pradesh state federation of farmer producer organizations. Most farmers don’t have access to crop insurance, and the raised compensation will not even pay for the cost of clearing the field and preparing for the next crop, said Dwivedi. Over 95% of paddy and wheat growers in India do not insure their crops, and only 10% of cotton and 14% of soybean farmers insured theirs, showed an NSSO situation assessment survey released in December last year.

For most, the paltry compensation they receive as crop damage is the only relief.

Worryingly, so far only five states have notified a drought this year, and among them, only Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha have sought central assistance for crop damage.

Several others, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Telangana and Haryana have not decided on declaring a drought, denying farmers even the small relief. A total of 302 districts in the country have received deficit or scanty rain this year and only 110 have been declared drought- affected by states, showed an earlier Mint analysis. (bit.ly/1kbqpsU)

Monsoon in India has been deficient for the second straight year in 2015: the two back-to-back drought years, punctuated by unseasonal rain in March that destroyed the winter (rabi) crop, has led to a third consecutive crop failure for many farmers.

“The revised amount for compensation is a joke and way below what is required to protect farmers from the vagaries of nature,” said Ashok Gulati, chair professor (agriculture), Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations in Delhi. “This will have political and economic ramifications but this government is living inside its utopian vision of India Shining,” said Gulati, referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2004 general election slogan.

“Either you give farmers irrigation or you give them crop insurance, but they are moving at a snail’s pace on both fronts.”

Livemint.com, 2 November, 2015, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/DS16zkMGt9qBS5PlB3FDOJ/For-droughthit-farmers-higher-compensation-still-a-pittanc.html


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close