With the agriculture sector reeling under financial crisis following the COVID-19 outbreak, farmers’ organisations in the district have appealed to the State government to come up with measures for writing off agricultural loans. They also sought the continuation of existing gold loan schemes by public sector banks for agriculture activities.
Leaders of prominent farmers’ organisations say low-income groups in settler areas of northern Kerala districts are going through acute financial crisis with the fall in daily production and revenue. Many are finding it hard to sell their stock with the closure of shops by hill-produce merchants.
M. Johnson, a farm organisation leader and former member of the Kozhikode District Agriculture Development Committee, says there is no effective relief package now to address woes of farmers. Though the welfare pension amount distributed by the government has come as a temporary relief for a few, it is hardly sufficient to meet even a small percentage of the actual expenses, he adds.
A functionary of the Indian Farmers Movement alleges that the latest revision of terms and conditions associated with the gold loan for agriculture has come as a big challenge for small and medium farmers who are yet to get their Kisan Credit Cards. He points out that those who do not have the cards will have to pay very high interest from June 1 and many are unable to pay even the interest amount now to renew their existing loans to comply with the latest directions.
T. Chandran, district secretary of Kera Karshaka Sanghom, says coconut farmers are badly in need of an effective procurement drive and relief package from the government. “Though the yield is high now, farmers are unable to sell the stock. There is also a steady fall in prices with the closure of large-scale trading units outside the State,” he says.
He adds that the government is yet to look into the crisis being faced by coconut-based producer companies in Kerala, which remain closed now. “Kozhikode had earlier been declared as a special zone for the promotion of coconut cultivation and coconut-based value-added products. It is sad that the sector is yet to receive any aid till date to support the ailing farmers,” he says.