-The Indian Express In the absence of patience and vision, the loan waiver remains the most favoured response to farm distress Thousands of farmers from different parts of India marched to Delhi on November 29-30 to register their protest against the Narendra Modi government’s perceived apathy and neglect of farmers’ demands. They were basically demanding three things: One, debate in Parliament to discuss farm distress; two, one-time loan waiver; and three,...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Why small, marginal farmers get just 40% of total agri credit -Rajalakshmi Nirmal
-The Hindu Business Line Loan waivers have made banks wary of them; beneficiaries are farm infra/services firms Every year the Centre announces an increase in the agri credit limit, but not even half of this reaches small farmers. Small farmers typically take small loans — of less than Rs. 2 lakh. RBI data show that in FY17, the share of loans of Rs. 2 lakh or less was just 40 per cent of...
More »A tale of two States: the differing politics of rural Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan -Vikas Pathak
-The Hindu With farm distress becoming a major electoral issue in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Vikas Pathak visits two pockets of rural India, Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh and Jodhpur district in Rajasthan, and finds that the political instincts of the rural voter are not necessarily rooted in agriculture. A few farmers sit huddled near a statue of Sardar Patel at Balaguda village in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh pouring out...
More »Ready for discussions with farmers, says BJP Kisan Morcha
-The Hindu 'Will take up their genuine demands with govt.’ The BJP’s Kisan Morcha has invited farmers’ groups across the country for a dialogue on rural distress after several marches and agitations by them in the last year or so, with Morcha chief Virendra Singh Mast conceding that loan waivers were a “temporary solution” to what ails the farm sector. At a press conference in New Delhi, Mr. Mast said: “I had invited...
More »Why farmers are angry: a ready reckoner -Vivek Kaul
-Newslaundry.com Quick fixes like loan waivers and MSPs don’t solve the basic problem. On December 2, 2018, PTI published a story on Sanjay Sathe of Nashik district. Sathe had grown 750 kg of onions this season. He was offered a rate of Rs. 1 per kg in the wholesale market when he tried selling them. He finally managed to negotiate a deal where he was paid Rs. 1,064 for 750 kg....
More »