Monday, March 21, 2016

‘Create awareness among farmers about their rights’

  • Agriculture scientist S.A. Patil delivering a talk at Gulbarga University in Kalaburagi on Sunday. —Photo: Arun Kulkarni
Agriculture scientist S.A. Patil delivering a talk at Gulbarga University in Kalaburagi on Sunday. —Photo: Arun Kulkarni
S.A. Patil, former director of the Indian Agriculture Research Institute, has said that the present agrarian crisis can be overcome by creating awareness among farmers about their rights through social engineering and ensuring that those in need of finance get money from banks and cooperative institutions.
He was here on Sunday to inaugurate a two-day seminar sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research on ‘Agricultural finance in India: trends, issues and challenges’.
It was organised by the Department of Studies and Research in Commerce in Gulbarga University.
Dr. Patil, who is also a former chairman of the Karnataka Krishi Mission, said that access to agriculture finance continued to be a major challenge for farmers and cooperative institutions, which were set up to bring agricultural finance next to the farmers’ doorsteps, had themselves become exploiters. Most of the cooperative societies are dominated by the rich and the affluent and the family members of those who get elected as board of directors. Most of the loans are swallowed by them. The genuine farmer requiring financial assistance is left in the lurch,” he said.
Target
Dr. Patil said that the target of extending Rs. 9 lakh crore as farm loans was too little. “Most of this amount does not reach the genuine farmers and the government should adopt a flexible approach in extending crop loans by banks by giving them a freehand to extend loans for non farm and off farm business activities. The allocation of Rs. 35,989 crore for agriculture is also less compared to the enormity of the agrarian crisis.”
Reasons
Dr. Patil said that reasons such as the diminishing soil fertility leading to a fall in production levels; repeating natural calamities; uncertainty of rainfall; small and fragmented land holdings; shortage of good quality seeds and lack of mechanisation; and lack of agriculture credit were responsible for the present crisis. “Farmers are caught in a ‘chakravyuha’ from which they are unable to get out.”
Social engineering
Non-agriculture sectors such as commerce and business should step in to protect farmers and take up social engineering in the farm sector to create awareness about farmers’ rights. Farmers should take up rotation of crops to improve soil fertility, he added.
Glut in market
Vice-Chancellor of Gulbarga University S.R. Niranjana said that the agriculture plan should be designed and implemented to match the demand and supply of agriculture produce and avert their glut in the market.
He also wanted universities to be roped in to take up research in agriculture and allied activities.
Ensure that farmers in need of finance get money from banks and coop.s, says expert

Source : The Hindu

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