The Hindu Business Line : Will the Budget package work for poor farmers?

The budgetary allocation for farmers’ loan waiver is an election-eve sop, riddled with pitfalls. The waiver goes against motivation for prompt payment and honest farmers can feel that they have been unwise in repayment of their loans. Marginal farmers will switch to improvident living by resorting to bank loans for their needs. Third, the scheme covers only crop loans. Farmers from rain-fed areas who would have invested in construction of wells, and pumpsets, are di scriminated against.

The massive allocation could have been better utilised in sustaining benefits by introducing insurance schemes such as crop insurance in which premia could have been subsidised so that crop losses can be covered for the benefit of farmers threatened with ruin.

The kisan’s requirements are long-term. One such need is advising and training in sources of supplementary income for the farmer’s family in agri-based cottage industries.

The NREG Scheme should be extended to all villages, ensuring that at least one eligible member in each family is provided with a job. Water, needed badly for irrigation, can be made available by constructing reservoirs and rain harvesters and by arranging supply from reservoirs storing surplus flood water. .

Technical expertise, as suggested by experts, should be applied to restore fertility to the soil. Only these measures can give the farmer a level playing ground.

*T. S Sundareswaran,

New Delhi

Farmers resorting to suicide cannot be prevented with the policy of relief from debt. Suicide is a social problem that needs to be analysed and tackled separately. Social welfare and security need to be assured, and a good standard of living ensured. Also, the economic viability, for farmers, can be enhanced with other support services, such as land and water.

T.V. Jayaprakash, Palakkad

The question is ‘Will the Budget package work for poor farmers’? It is not going to help poor farmers in any way. Farmers taking to committing suicide cannot be linked to loans from banks alone. Waiver of loans to the extent of Rs 60,000 crore is unimaginable in the current context of reducing subsidies for kerosene, petrol, diesel, etc. The Government has unveiled a ‘Please all’ Budget with an eye on elections.

R. Swaminathan, Tiruchi

The proposal to waive farmers’ loans to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore will reduce their financial burden considerably. We appreciate the Finance Minister’s courage and his gesture. At the same time, this will demoralise those who have paid repaid loans honestly.

Further, the government proposes to extend more loans to farmers after this waiver. Under these circumstances, farmers may not bother about repayment of loans since they expect similar loan waiver proposal before the next election.

V. Venkitasubramanian, Kochi

Farm loan waivers and other such schemes will affect honest borrowers/farmers adversely. Money should rather be directed towards creating better facilities, such as development of water resources, godowns and storage facilities, extension activities, road and other linkages. Unfortunately, there is no long-term vision, only short-term goals. The farmer may be happy at possibly getting rid of today’s loan. But what about his future? And this is not a cost that needs to be borne by the tax paying public silently.

Krithivasan, e-mail

No. The Finance Minister has done the easiest job, asking banks to waive farm loan dues. The government has no plans to uplift the condition of poor farmers. So once in 3-5 years they go for loan waivers. Banks are happy because in any case they are not capable of recovering these dues.

K. V. Rao, Bangalore

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