The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Agrarian crisis

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Wednesday, Jun 18, 2008
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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Agrarian crisis

Farmers are ignored by our governments because they are neither a consortium of oil companies nor a handful of share market operators (“Fertilising profit, sowing misery,” June 16). It is not that our rulers do not recognise the importance of agriculture. Their priorities are different. They are left with little money after showering subsidies, duty cuts and tax breaks on industrialists and MNCs.

Amid the hue and cry over the declining cultivable area and the availability of per capita foodgrains, successive governments both at the Centre and the States promote special economic zones and techno parks. Farmers are remembered only during budget sessions and general elections.

M.S.R.A. Srihari,

Khammam

* * *

Our policymakers have not spared a thought for poor farmers, which is unfortunate. We are on the brink of a global calamity and need to take visionary steps to resolve the impending agrarian crisis and restore to our farmers their dignity.

R. Girish,

Botswana

* * *

It is true that subsidising fertilizer manufacturers is better than directly subsidising farmers, which can lead to misuse (Letters, June 17). But the fact remains that the farmer is unable to procure the fertilizer at the price at which it is sold and at the right time. While a loan waiver is welcome, it is a cure that is to be offered at the final stage. It is an irony that while in advanced countries agriculture has become an industry of profit, it remains a misery for our farmers.

K.R.A. Narasiah,

Chennai

* * *

How long will our farmers continue to be cheated? Sometimes they are cheated in the name of Bt crop variety, sometimes over claims made by fertilizer companies and always on the price of their produce. It is a shame that the country cannot provide proper guidance or support to the farming community. The growth of urban India and the exclusion of the poor from it is the order of the day. When international organisations are vying with one another for a share in the profit to be made by the high demand for food grains, we, in the hinterland of agriculture, neglect it conspicuously. The prescriptions of the World Bank and the IMF are beginning to show their impact on our lives.

K.S.V.V.N.S.V. Prasad,

Rajahmundry

* * *

Corporate culture cannot be blamed for the state of agriculture. Instead, it is the lack of it that is the root cause of all problems. Small land holdings and traditional farming practices do not contribute to the viability of farming. The minimum support prices offered for various crops are not in favour of farmers. Taking shelter under various subsidies extended to agriculture — irrigation facilities, seeds, fertilizers, credit, etc. — the government gives farmers low support prices. A high subsidy on fertilizers benefits only the manufacturers. But Indian farmers made the green revolution possible against all odds and one hopes they can still turn the situation around.

K.M. Lakshmana Rao,

Visakhapatnam

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