The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Reality check for Central panel

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Friday, Feb 09, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Others

Reality check for Central panel

Special Correspondent

Ryots seek changes in crop insurance norms, loan waiver to stop suicides

KURNOOL: The Inter-Ministerial Central Committee on Drought, led by Chairman Agarwal, toured drought-affected mandals of Kurnool and Anantapur districts on Thursday to have a first-hand account.

The panel visited Palledoddi, Karivemula and Devanakonda in Kurnool district and interacted with farmers and farm labourers. A woman told the panel at Palledoddi that the family invested Rs. 40,000 on groundnut crop in six acres but the return was only Rs. 8,000. Unable to face the financial troubles, the family was planning to migrate to Guntur. Villagers said the rainfall did not exceed 300 mm, which was not sufficient for any crop. Standing crops on 4,500 acres were destroyed due to water stress. Members of the panel — Renu Singh, Pathak and Subba Rao — accompanied Mr. Agarwal.

ANANTAPUR: Another four-member team examined crops like leftover jowar, red gram and tomato and withered agriculture and horticulture crops due to dried up borewells and interacted with people at a few places between Tanakallu and Bathalapalli mandals in the district.

At Allugundu in Nallacheruvu mandal, farmers — Gangi Reddy, Gangappa and Nirajan Reddy — explained to the team that they had suffered nine drought seasons since 1997 and they were not in a position to mobilise investments for cultivation. They said farmers with good land holdings were also migrating due to drought.

As crops were failing in successive years, they were unable to repay the loans and the distress was leading to suicides by ryots.

Only waiver of loans would save farmers, they reasoned.

They requested changes in the crop insurance scheme like taking an average production for assessment of crop loss instead of the present system of taking 60 per cent of the last five years' average yield as threshold yield. Besides, they urged the team to recommend reduction in the crop insurance premium from 3 per cent of the loan amount to 1 per cent.

Severity `high'

J.H. Panwal, member of the team, told mediapersons that "severity of drought is high" and drinking water scarcity and fodder shortage appeared to be acute. The team would try its best to help people, he said.

The team comprised C.V.S.K. Sharma on behalf of the State Government, D.R. Gurumukhi and R.M. Deshpande, besides Mr. Panwal.

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