The Hindu : Front Page : Special farm package for State in a month

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2006
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Special farm package for State in a month

Staff Reporter

Pawar says situation in Kerala is different from that of other States

PATIENT HEARING: Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar hearing the grievances of a farmer at Chittur in Palakkad on Monday.

PALAKKAD: Union Minister for Food and Agriculture Sharad Pawar said on Monday that the Centre would "launch a special agriculture package for Kerala within 30 days, after getting the approval of the Union Cabinet."

Addressing representatives of farmers at the Collectorate Conference Hall here, the Minister said the problems faced by farmers in Kerala were different from that in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Hence, a different package was proposed for Kerala. In the other States, the failure of one crop could be made good with assistance from the Union Government. But in Kerala the plantation sector needed huge investment and a long period to revive and the failure of cash crops would be disastrous for the farmers.

He said that "before finalising the special package, the Centre will hold talks with the Kerala Government on the schemes to help the plantation sector."

The Union Minister said the package being implemented in other States would not suit Kerala. "This is why I decided to visit the State and hold discussions with farmers, officials, people's representatives and the State Government.''

He said the special package could be implemented in three years. The Union Government will give financial aid to implement the schemes. The package will focus on improving credit facilities to farmers, interest waiver and debt-relief measures, besides long-term credit plans.

The Union Minister said farmers had been driven to suicide by unremunerative prices for the produce and mounting debts. As many as 16,000 farmers had committed suicide in the country since 1999. The suicides were reported from 16 districts in Andhra Pradesh, six districts each in Maharashtra and Karnataka and three districts in Kerala.

Mr. Pawar said the proposed package would include irrigation programmes and development of watershed and rainwater harvesting schemes.

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