Union Budget: Vidarbha farmers demand Integrated Plan to address Agrarian Distress

Union Budget: Vidarbha farmers demand Integrated Plan  to address Agrarian distress

Dated -3^rd February 2015

When Maharashtra the government officially declared that 60% of its villages were facing a severe drought of the century affecting almost 90 lakh farmers in state 23,811 of the state's 39,453 villages come in this category after complete kharif crop has been damaged adding fueled to existing farm crisis in the region where the highest number of farmer’s suicides reported in the country hence addressing the very acute issue of farmers suicides, main farm advocacy   group  in the vidarbha region has once again approached Indian Govt. to provide time bound budgetary allocation to address agrarian crisis  on with complete focus on credit ,cost and crop issues which are only responsible rural economic crisis  of dry land farmers of the region which under  the fourth drought in the state since 2008 in raw forced more than 40 thousand innocent debt trapped farmers to kill themselves in that period ,all relief packages were never focus   on credit ,cost and crop issues hence failed to curb the existing distress this year too   the state government has released relief worth Rs 2,000 crore so far moreover  asked the Central government for aid worth Rs 4,800 crore which is being denied since November 2014 ,hence In view of the neglected farmers, it was high time that the central government looks at agrarian crisis seriously in Vidarbha and announce integrated solution plan to address existing despair   , Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) president Kishore Tiwari said in a memorandum submitted to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to present the union budget on 28^th of this month .

VJAS has termed recent statements of central and state ministers and officials that solving issue of power and creating irrigation facilities to address existing agrarian distress as rubbish as state which is having full irrigation  and sufficient free power supply to agriculture is reporting maximum farmers suicides due to economic losses to paddy, soybean , cotton and pluses  due to open market recession and very poor minimum support  price (MSP) and exploitation of private money  lenders as state owned banking institutes are dying the credit to farmers and same is issue of farm suicide prone area like vidarbha in Maharashtra ,tiwari said

VJAS has insisted finance ministry to provide much needed integrated plan which will the major demands of the farmers include- minimum support price (MSP) for cotton and soybean to match the cost of production with a 50 % profit margin, new crop loan to farmers after waiving their existing debt dues, bringing new technology in agriculture and irrigation. the provisions  Financial assistance for farm widows and higher education facilities to their wards along with food security and health security to distressed agrarian community should to part such solution plan which will stand in line with promises given by PM Modiji, Tiwari added in letter .

When NDA has  made vidarbha farm suicide as major election issue promises better cost and credit for farm produce and agriculture sector but  economic agenda and recent statements of NDA ministers and Babus are deviating from it hence we are made detail representation in Indian finance minister when he has asked for suggestions hoping the best in 2015-16 financila budget , Tiwari said