Farmers frame policies and remind HDK of his promise

Mysuru: Farmers in the Mysuru belt have come up with a 10-point agenda for the government in order to reverse the agricultural crisis. The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and Hasiru Sene are seeking to remind Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of his election promise of a loan waiver. The agenda seeks an immediate announcement on the matter and the implementation of other measures to ensure the welfare of cultivators.

General Secretary of KRRS Badagalapura Nagendra said that waiving of farm loans is not the only solution and that a comprehensive study of the reasons and causes of the agrarian crisis was required to come up with permanent solutions. One such solution might be to provide short-term institutional finance without interest for farmers. He also emphasized on the need to make farmers financially strong to repay loans, and to achieve it through socio-economic and educational programmes.

The KRRS also has appealed to the government to encourage agro-based industries so that the demand for agricultural produce increases, ensuring an assured market and an assured rate for cultivators. The Sangha opines that such a move would encourage more youth from villages to continue their agricultural practice and reverse the rural-urban migration pattern. The value-addition to agricultural produce will also improve industrial and economic conditions in rural areas.

The KRRS and Hasiru Sene are also demanding that the Chief Minister modify the existing policies such that the problems faced by sugarcane cultivators are mitigated. “The government should ensure higher procurement rates for cultivators besides ensuring that the farmers also have a share in the profits accrued by the companies by selling sugarcane by-products,” they said. They also wanted the procurement price fixed by the Karnataka Agricultural Prices Commission (KAPC) to be legally binding.

The organisations also suggested other environmental measures for their collective welfare like extension of irrigation facilities in the Cauvery and Krishna basins, conservation and replenishment of lakes and other water bodies, implementation of small and medium irrigation projects in the State, emphasis on organic and natural farming methods, measures to recharge the groundwater table, increase green cover and encourage horticulture.