THANJAVUR: Farmers here are disappointed with the Union Budget as it did not address the issue of debts for which they were expecting a one-time farm loan waiver.
Sami Natarajan, the state secretary of Tamil Nadu Farmers association and a farmer from Orathanadu area in Thanjavur district, told The New Indian Express that farmers were disappointed as there was no announcement of a loan waiver. "There were no effective steps to fix remunerative prices for the agriculture produce," he added.
He also pointed out there were no major irrigation schemes to convert rainfed farm lands, which comprise more than 55% of total farm land, into irrigated ones. He further added though the estimated credit flow to agriculture has been increased from Rs 15 lakh crore to Rs 16.5 lakh crore, most of the small, marginal farmers usually do not get institutional finance and only agriculture industries and corporate farming sector get the major share.
P S Masilamani, the state deputy general secretary of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and a farmer from Tiruvarur, also said he was disappointed over the non-announcement of farm loan waiver. He further said the farmers' long pending demand to constitute a fund for natural disaster compensation was not announced.
He said with the increasing vagaries of nature due to causes like global warming, such a fund is imperative. He pointed out the huge crop damage this samba season due to unseasonal rains. He also said the norms of the disaster relief fund have not been amended for increased compensation for crop damage. Masilamani also pointed out there is no announcement for legalising the Minimum Support Price (MSP). "Moreover, the MSP has not been fixed as per the M S Swaminathan commission", he added.
P R Pandian of the Tamizhaga Cauvery Vivasayigal Sangam said the Budget is not only disappointing but also shocking. Though the finance minister said food grain procurement by the government is continuing, farmers are unsure about its continuation in the coming years. He also said though the minister said the quantum of procurement has increased, she did not address the manifold increase in fertilizer prices.
"For instance, DAP which was sold at Rs 375 per bag in 2014 has increased to Rs 1,500 per bag," he added. He further added there was no major allocation for basic infrastructure for agriculture. "There were no schemes for recharging of the ground water, safety of dams etc," he said, claiming the government is planning to privatize the maintenance of irrigation structures and hence there were no announcements on that front.