Ahead of the Karnataka Budget likely to be tabled in early March, farmers from the region have flagged issues that have been plaguing agriculture and want Government to make adequate allocation to the farm sector.
Karnataka State Sugarcane Cultivators Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar in Mysuru on Sunday announced that the farmers will also conduct a divisional level conference in Mysuru, in the run up to the Budget session and specific issues related to sugarcane cultivators, besides issues relevant to agriculture and farmers, to draw attention of the Government to their demands.
He said the farmers were in dire straits and suffered due to untimely and incessant rains which lashed the region till as late as early December. This, he said, had a negative bearing on crop output but the Government does not quantify the low yield resulting in reduced income to the farmers, as crop loss.
While the input cost has gone up, the income from agriculture was on the decline and reduction in crop yield will only result in a further decline in their returns, he added.
Hence, Mr. Shanthakumar urged the Government to ensure that the forthcoming State Budget should be pro-farmer in scope so as to bail them out of financial crisis.
The thrust of the State policy and the budget should be to ensure statutory compliance of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops besides minimum income for farmers, said Mr. Shanthakumar.
Other demands of farmers
Calling for extension of health insurance to farmers, the Association said the Government can deduct ₹1 for each ton of sugarcane or any other crop procured from farmers. The premium on health insurance can thus be paid with relevant remittance from the Government and would not be a financial burden on the State exchequer, according to the farmers.
He further said the Telangana Government was paying the premium for farmers who were insured for ₹5 lakh and in case of any accidental death of the insured the surviving family members get the insurance amount, said Mr. Shanthakumar who sought a similar policy in the State.
On issues related to sugarcane farmers in particular, the association said the existing restriction on establishing an ethanol unit within 15 km radius of a sugarcane factory, should be scrapped.
In a bid to ensure that the farmers get easy access to market, the Government should announce procurement centre at Hobli level and this would benefit farmers with small land holding, said Mr. Shanthakumar. The existing agricultural insurance policy came in for flak as it did not assist farmers to recover the loss and the association said all crops should qualify for crop insurance and the cost of cultivation or the extent of loss incurred due to natural exigencies.
Given the severity of the crisis plaguing agriculture and the importance of the sector, the association wanted a monthly meeting with the deputy commissioners at the districts to help resolve problems confronting the sector, said Mr. Shanthakumar.
