Farmers' body BKU today said the government should pay fair remunerative prices for crops with 50 per cent margin over the cost of cultivation as the farming community is reeling under stress after a two consecutive drought years.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) General Secretary Yudhvir Singh after submitting a memorandum to Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said that farmers are living under tremendous stress, leading to a rise in the number of suicide cases. He demanded debt waivers for farmers.
"There was back to back droughts in last two years so now there is an urgent need for the BJP-led government to fulfill its promises made in its manifesto of giving higher minimum support prices with minimum 50 per cent more margin over the cost of cultivation," Singh added.
Stating that farmers are still committing suicides, Singh said they are unable to generate enough income for their livelihood and as a result there debt is increasing.
There is also a need to frame a new comprehensive policy to tackle unseasonal rains and drought situations, he said adding that "whatever relief is provided by the government is not enough".
On the revised Crop Insurance Scheme, the BKU said there would be no substantive benefits to farmers from the cosmetic changes made to the scheme.
He further said the BKU also raised the issue of WTO with the Agriculture Minister.
On the WTO issue, he said the Indian government failed to secure any permanent solution to food security issues at the December 2015 Ministerial meeting at Nairobi.
"India was not even able to bring the pertinent issues specifically related to farmers and agriculture sector to the table, he said.
