Karnataka Budget 2018: Farm-waiver short-term temporary relief, no visions for long-term

About 79 lakh families in the state are dependent on the farm sector and the budget was expected to come out with a slew of proposals to raise their income.

Published: 06th July 2018 05:01 AM  |   Last Updated: 06th July 2018 05:01 AM   |  A+A-

Farmers harvesting their crop in Mysuru district on Thursday | Udayshankar S

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Taking pride in being the ‘Mannina Maga’, H D Kumaraswamy’s maiden budget has brought cheer for many small and marginal farmers reeling under the burden of farm loans. But more was expected from the government — in at least making a beginning towards formulating an integrated approach to address the distress in the farming sector.

The waiver announced on Thursday comes with 15 pre-conditions, denying the benefit to thousands of farmers. The budget has disappointed those who had expected a blanket waiver.

“The CM has betrayed the farmers. The partial farm loan waiver is just a temporary relief. but there is not a single initiative with a long-term vision,” Badagalapura Nagendra, General Secretary of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha told TNIE.  

About 79 lakh families in the state are dependent on the farm sector and the budget was expected to come out with a slew of proposals to raise their income, promote small agri-based industries and welfare programmes for children of farmers. “Farmers had demanded a comprehensive package for rejuvenation of the sector, implementation of Swaminathan Committee report, development of native varieties of seeds, incentives for chemical-free agriculture among others. We are disappointed,” Nagendra said.

The allied sectors like animal husbandry, vermicomposting, innovative programmes to encourage rural youth to set up small agriculture-related enterprises could have been drafted into the budget, feels economist and visiting professor at Institute of Social and Economic Change, Prof Abdul Aziz.

With the Narendra Modi government announcing a hike in MSP just a day earlier, expectations from the state government were high. “But there is no plan to address the perennial problem of crash in prices of agriculture commodities. Programmes like investment subsidy for rural youth to set up micro industries related to agriculture in their localities may have helped prevent large-scale migration to cities,” Nagendra suggested.

Stay up to date on all the latest Karnataka news with The New Indian Express App. Download now

Comments

Disclaimer : We respect your thoughts and views! But we need to be judicious while moderating your comments. All the comments will be moderated by the newindianexpress.com editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks. Try to avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines.

The views expressed in comments published on newindianexpress.com are those of the comment writers alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of newindianexpress.com or its staff, nor do they represent the views or opinions of The New Indian Express Group, or any entity of, or affiliated with, The New Indian Express Group. newindianexpress.com reserves the right to take any or all comments down at any time.