Farmer organisations in Wayanad are devising strategies to resist revenue recovery measures by financial institutions against loans, Farmers’ Relief Forum president P.M. George has said.
The spread of COVID-19, sharp decline in production of cash crops such as black pepper and coffee owing to climate change and diseases affecting crops, and wildlife attacks have cast a shadow on the lives of thousands of farmers in Wayanad, he added. As a result, many farmers were unable to repay their debts in time. Moreover, they are now facing the threat of losing their mortgaged property.
Financial institutions, including nationalised banks, had initiated revenue recovery measures by invoking the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (SARFAESI) Act against farm loans availed by over 1,500 farmers in the district, he said.
Most debt-ridden farmers are in Mullankolly, Pulpally and Poothady panchayats, Mr. George said. The Sulthan Bathery Co-Operative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (SBCARDB) had decided to attach the property of 10 farmers in Padichira village on August 24 by invoking the SARFAESI Act, and the farmer community would resist all attempts by the bank to invoke the Act, he said.
There had been no support from the State government for the community so far, Mr. George said, adding that though the government had announced the ₹7,000-crore Wayanad package in 2021, it was yet to release funds for the purpose.
The organisation would intensify stir against the move by financial institutions in the coming days, he added. Meanwhile, the Karshaka Congress district committee sought the immediate intervention of the government in the matter. It also demanded that all agriculture loans be written off.
