Other States - Mumbai   

Vidarbha forum writes to PM on farm crisis

MUMBAI: With the first and second sowing of cotton failing in the five districts of Vidarbha, the agrarian crisis in the region has further deepened, making Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti demand in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, free distribution of coarse grains seeds such as bajra and jowar and assistance of Rs. 2000 an acre to save the debt-hit three million farmers.

As the rain plays truant, five districts in the region have not received even one hour of continuous rain, leading to dry conditions.

“Soyabean, the alternative cash crop of cotton, germinates early but dries out fast if the land has no moisture; so now the food crop is the only way left,” Samiti leader Kishor Tiwari told The Hindu.

Mr. Tiwari said that in the absence of fresh loans from banks, the farmers had borrowed from local moneylenders-cum-seed-vendors to do the first and second sowing during June and first week of July but the scanty rainfall had resulted in inadequate irrigation.

The late notification by banks to beneficiaries of the loan waiver had been a hindrance in farmers getting fresh crop loans. This forced them to borrow from moneylenders and the failure of rain now had worsened the situation for the debt-ridden, suicide-prone farmers, he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Vidarbha forum writes to PM on farm crisis

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu