Budget sows no hope: Farmers, activists

NAGPUR: Agriculturists and activists found little reason to be enthused by the announcements made in the Union Budget. Except a mention of zero budget farming, which has not received much response in the region, agriculturists said core issues related to the sector have been avoided by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Kishore Tiwari, chairman of Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavalamban Mission (VNSSM), said, “There was no proposal to restore the credit cycle of farmers, or rather any mention of farm lending at all. There was a need to bring changes in the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme, apart from streamlining functioning of non-banking institutions engaged in lending in the rural sector.”
Vijay Jawandhia, a former Shetkari Sangathana leader from Wardha, called the budget a mere eyewash. “Despite the claims on doubling farmers’ income, no major proposals have been made. Nowhere in the world farming can be feasible without financial support from the government. But the government here is rather focusing on zero budget farming, which it may only find to be an easy way out,” he said.
“We were hoping for moves like hiking import duty on farm produce and boosting exports. Restricting imports and easing exports can help get a better rate for the produce in domestic market. However, all that was said about agriculture in the budget did not sound to be much relevant,” said Vallabh Deshmukh, a director in Maharashtra Seeds Corporation from Buldhana.
The minimum support price (MSP) was hiked before the budget. Such attempts do not translate into any direct benefit for the farmers. No matter what the MSP is, the market price remains lower for a number of crops, he said. Deshmukh called for a separate budget for the agriculture sector.