Farming needs a fillip

This refers to the article “Don’t leave out the small farmer” by S Chandramohan (August 9). The main problem confronting the farming community, especially small farmers, is the inadequate or negative return on investment in cultivation, which leads them into a debt trap. The writer makes many viable solutions to rejuvenate the sector. Public land banks can be floated to strengthen the area under cultivation and to avoid selling of arable lands for commercial purposes. Group farming or cooperative farming must be encouraged in order to reduce costs. In this way, farmers can optimise their efforts and push for maximum benefits.

At a time when the Indian farming community is poised to compete with developing and developed nations in terms of quality of output, cultivation employing new technology and subsidies, a network composed of farmers, suppliers, lending institutions and government should be in place to transform the lacklustre agri-sector into a lucrative one.

S Lakshminarayanan

Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu

I fully agree with and support the writer’s views. Further, the Government should subsidise the manufacture of tractors, farm equipment and implements. Banks such as Nabard and other rural credit institutions should tie up with reputed organisations to manufacture quality equipment and finance them either on sale or lease and buy back basis. The Government can extend interest subversion schemes to these manufacturers and banks at an affordable interest. The Government should encourage domestic investment in the manufacture of tractors, harvesters, loaders and other farm equipment by creating a level playing field through the regulation of imports which at the moment are free and unchecked; this results in substandard goods flooding the market.

S Dharmarajan

Mumbai

Be more responsible, Sachin

It is a welcome that the issue of Sachin Tendulkar’s long absence from the Rajya Sabha has been raised in the House. He should live up to the expectations of the ‘constituency’, namely, sports discipline, and discharge his duties without inviting criticism from any quarter. His not claiming any perquisites for attending Parliament is laudable, but this act alone cannot absolve him of his failure to attend proceedings. If, for some genuine reasons, he is not able to ensure regular attendance, he should honourably relinquish his membership of Parliament.

N Swaminathan

Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu

Biased position

US president Barack Obama can command air strikes in North Iraq to kill ISIS terrorists and destroy their hideouts and stocks of weapons and explosives. But the same Obama does nothing about the ISI-trained LeT, JuD and other ant-India terrorist groups. The biased administration is interested solely in capturing the urban and rural markets of India.

Hansraj Bhat

Mumbai

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