Concerned about farmers’ suicide that reflects an abysmal state of the country’s farming and rural poverty, organisations representing the community across the nation have sought from the Centre a holistic budget to revive agriculture.
The Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movement, in its wish list to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee ahead of next month’s presentation of Budget 2013, said the union government must enable those involved in agriculture to weather the challenges of poverty, even while guarding them against climate change and curbing ecological devastation.
The letter stressed the need to prioritise agriculture in a way that would strengthen the abilities of small, marginal and medium and farmers, including workers.
The Bhartiya Kissan Union said agriculture should get 40 per cent of the budget allotment, since farming employs more than half of the country’s population. “In fact, we need a separate budget for agriculture, just as there exists one for railways,” according to Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, president (Punjab) of the union.
| OTHER DEMANDS IN THE WISH LIST * Ecological services bonus to farmers who practise ecological agriculture and cultivate eco-friendly crops * Identify and record tenant farmers, and provide them access to crop loans, insurance, compensation for crop loss, and all government subsidies and programmes * A concerted program to update land records * Drastic increase in the outlay for Disaster Relief Fund for farmers at Rs 10,000 per acre on the lines of recommendations of the Hooda committee * A labour subsidy of 50 person-days/hectare for agricultural operations on private lands of farmers to compensate for the steep rise in labour wages * A rural livelihoods program that focuses on agro-based processing, storage and marketing facilities in rural areas, managed by farmer collectives * Adequate research finances to agricultural universities * Separate fund for families bereaved by farmers' suicide |
Secondly, he wanted the setting up of a price compensation mechanism that guarantees the farmers a fair price for their produce. “Remember, the National Farmers Commission had recommended that farmers be paid at least 1.5 times the cost of cultivation,” Lakhowal recalled. The government should set up a price stabilisation fund to address the market fluctuations in commercial crops, he added. Thirdly, farmers’ leader stressed the focus of the budget allocated to agriculture should be on schemes to promote ecological and organic type of farming. Further, the fertiliser subsidy should go directly to the farmers and not the chemical fertiliser companies, he added.
“That way, farmers can earn the power to chose the kind of fertiliser they want and opt to invest in ecological fertilisers,” Lakhowal noted.
The wish list also spoke of agricultural loans with zero per cent interest to farmers, and waiving of older loans to them. It also sought a social security fund for all farm households, including for agricultural workers. This must include pension and maternity benefits, besides insurance on life, accident and health. Farmers -- both men and women -- above 60 years of age must receive a pension like all other government employees. Widows pension should be extended to the farming committee, as well.
Further, the state or the centre must provide adequate insurance should to crops in all regions.
