Even as the Gujarat Government is yet to announce a relief package who have suffered unprecedented losses, the opposition has blamed the government policies for the fate of the farmers that also includes debts running into thousands of rupees per head.
The recent unseasonal rains have hit the farmers hard at the time when their crops were ready to be taken to the markets for selling.
These additional losses could not have come at a more inappropriate time when more than 50 lakh farmers in Gujarat have taken loans of Rs. 1,46,463 crore from banks for farming. This is one of the reasons there has been a growing demand that the bank loans should be waived off.
In Gujarat, farmers take loans from commercial banks rather than from rural cooperative banks.
With the promises of the farmers’ incomes doubling nowhere in the sight, they are now facing double trouble.
Buying seeds, pesticides and fertilisers has become costly and the farmers also do not have money to get their crop insured. According to Congress leaders, the BJP government discontinued the crop insurance that was introduced during the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi as the Prime Minister.
The Union Agriculture Ministry has clarified in the Lok Sabha that till the year 2025, 51 lakh farmers in Gujarat have collectively taken loans of Rs. 1,46,463 crore.
The average debt per farmer in Gujarat is Rs. 56,000. Compared to Gujarat, the average debt of farmers in states like Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand is less. Also, the average monthly income of the farmers is just over Rs 12,000.
Dr. Manish Doshi, Gujarat Congress spokesperson, blamed it on the government’s policies. Input costs have increased in the last 10 years and there is GST even on fertilisers and pesticides, he pointed out.
He further pointed out in Gujarat the input cost of the farmers increased as out of the 54 lakh registered farmers, about 70 percent hold small pieces of land.
Spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Gujarat unit, Dr. Karan Barot, too echoed the same sentiments. Blaming the government for the woes of the farmers, he said recently farmers have died by suicide as they have no hopes from the government. Even the agriculture minister has admitted that there has been massive crop loss due to unseasonal rains, he pointed out, adding that the survey that is being undertaken is a drama.
Dr. Barot claimed that the farmers are so angry that they would topple the BJP government.
Also Read: Shaktisinh Gohil Demands Full Compensation For Farmers, Congress Begins Khedut Aakrosh Yatra In Gujarat https://www.vibesofindia.com/compensation-for-farmers-congress-begins-khedut-aakrosh-yatra-in-gujarat/
