-The Indian Express Raising procurement prices of kharif crops will only give false hope to farmers. Has the winter of farmers’ discontent turned into a glorious summer by the significant hike in minimum support price (MSP) for kharif crops announced two weeks ago? The hike is unlikely to stem the rural unrest that is gnawing into the ruling alliance’s votebank. The PM has had to personally defend the government’s programmes that have...
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Maharashtra: In three months, 639 farmers committed suicide owing to crop failure and debt
-The Indian Express "Of the 188, families of 174 farmers have received compensation," Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil said, saying 122 cases were declared ineligible for compensation, while 329 cases are pending for further investigation. New Delhi: Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil has said 639 farmers have committed suicide in three months (March to May) this year due to pressing debt, crop failure and the inability to repay bank loans. Patil was replying...
More »MSP -- Unfair to farmers in food bowl states -Manjit S Kang
-The Tribune The input costs of only chosen farmers are considered to decide the MSP. This is unfair to the farmers of the 'Granary of India' as their input costs are much higher than those of farmers from the rest of the country. In the Indian system, farmers are the only 'businessmen' who cannot set their own price for their products —foodgrains. Even a 'rehrhi-wala' sets his own price daily for whatever...
More »1,648 people died every year during 1953-2016 due to floods or heavy showers, shows recent CWC data
The Central Water Commission (CWC) has released the state-wise and national-level annual data on human and economic costs associated with floods or excessive rainfall for the last 64 years at a time when the North East is devastated by nature's fury. That data indicates that on an average 3.2 crore Indians were affected by floods or excessive rainfall every year between 1953 and 2016. Floods or downpours took a heavy toll...
More »Target incomes, not prices -Puja Mehra
-The Hindu Income support must be provided to at least the most vulnerable farmers Our farm policy is so bad, the proverb ‘you reap what you sow’ isn’t true any longer. A bumper crop is no different from a drought, for it too depresses farm incomes. Good rains, excessive sowing and the bumper harvest last year produced gluts in the market that sent the prices of many crops, and therefore farm incomes, crashing....
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