‘Loan waiver is not the only solution to farm crisis’

T.N. Prakash Kammardi, chairman of the Karnataka Agricultural Prices Commission, has argued that loan waiver is not the only solution to the present agrarian crisis and it is just a “signal by the ruling government to say we are with you in the time of crisis”.

According to him, loan waiver is neither economically prudent nor a long-term solution. He maintained that while one-third of farm loans is from the cooperative sector, two-thirds are from commercial banks. “Now, the onus is on the Union government, as the previous government in the State had waived cooperative loans to the extent of ₹50,000,” he said.

The new coalition government needs time to decide on loan waiver as there is need for taking fiscal issues into consideration besides mobilisation of resources, he said. “It would have been difficult even for B.S. Yeddyurappa, if he had occupied the seat of the Chief Minister, as officials would have informed him about the pros and cons of such a measure, based on the financial position of the State,” he said. Implementing recommendations of the M.S. Swaminathan committee report in toto by the Union government is the only possible solution to the present agrarian crisis, he added.