Maharashtra Agriculture Growth likely Report Record low-Scams shifted focus from Agrarian crisis – VJAS

Maharashtra Agriculture growth likely report record low-Scams shifted focus from Agrarian crisis  – VJAS

Nagpur-9th December 2012
Maharashtra financial survey followed Budget 2011-12 officially admitted more than 15% negative growth in Agriculture sector    which has badly lowered down GDP growth of Maharashtra is likely report record more than 20% minus negative growth as crops cotton , soybean,pluses , sugarcane and paddy  in more than 9 million hector have reported failure that is very serious issue before state but Scams have overshadow that main crisis state  , this will fuel  financial bankrupt state which debt is above 2 lakhs crore hence we demand status report from Maharashtra Govt. over issue and will press the demand for the same in Nagpur winter session to get bail out package for dying vidarbha farmers informed  Kishore Tiwari of farm advocacy group Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti today..

"The agrarian crisis related Cost-Crop-Credit has furthered widen to issues of land-water-ecological disorder due to hostile function of Maharashtra CM Prathviraj chavan who failed to give any relief dying vidarbha region moreover crisis has been spread to  Marathawada,  Khandesh and  north Maharashtra too .last year some districts shown positive growth but they under severe drought this year more over for the first time, Maharashtra has officially admitted that cotton yield is likely to reduce by nearly 40%. Bt cotton failure in more than 4 million hectares of land has reduced cotton yieldfrom 3.5 million quintal to 2.2 million quintal. the report sent by the state agricultural department to the Centre states that the estimate of the net direct economic loss to cotton farmers in the state will be nearly Rs6,000 crore, whereas accumulated losses are likely to cross more than Rs20,000 crore due to a steep rise in cultivation costs' Tiwari said .

The powerful Ajit Pawar is back as deputy chief minister after a little over two months and much drama; and everyone in Maharashtra knew what the climax would be but it has seriously insulted the sentiments of vidarbha cotton and 10,000 families where farmers committed suicides since 2005 and it is just rubbing salt to the wounds of victims of vidarbha agrarian crisis ,we will protest the move will see that he is shown his real position after mega irrigation scam , alleged  Kishore Tiwari urging the Indian prime minister to initiate the action .

We are  surprising and neither was the white paper issued by the water works department, headed by an NCP minister who too faces corruption charges. The white paper gave Mr Pawar a clean chit, paving the way for his return but main issue of corruption is stillpending and Govt. can not cover up the issue like this which will trigger the irrigation crisis hence our protest, Tiwari added.

'Due to rise in the prices of Bt cotton seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and labour since last year has had a huge impact. “The agrarian crisis sweeping through the state due to Bt cotton failure has only widened. Unlike when cotton crop failure was reported only from Vidarbha and Marathawada, reports of such crop failure are now coming in from Khandesh in north Maharashtra, too,National Crime Records Bureau reveals that the number of farmer suicides in Maharashtra are likely to cross 5,000 this year in comparison to the 3,500 last year. The figures last year were, in fact, the highest among all states in India.This is the third year in a row that Bt cotton failure is being reported in Mahahrashtra. Last year, the state paid Rs2,000 crore to 4 million cotton farmers as compensation. Unlike earlier when dry land farmers were affected, even areas with adequate irrigation are facing a crop loss this year.according to state records, Maharashtra grows Bt cotton in 4.2 million hectares of land. This is the largest among all cotton-producing states. Even thenit has been reporting lowest cotton yield of about 5 quintal per hectare since 2006. The latest official estimate says this is likely to fall to 3 quintal per hectare. “This means a net loss of more than Rs38,000 per hectare!” points out Tiwari. 

“We demand a compensation of Rs20,000 per hectare and fresh crop loans for every farmer for the ensuing kharif season. We also want food security and free health education, along with the implementation ofland development, soil enrichment and watershed development under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,” he said.

He appealed to the government not to mock the farmers. “We hope the state relief packages actually help farmers this time instead of just benefiting contractors, politicians and multinational agro majors like it has in the past.”

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