The budget has virtually doubled the allocation for paddy cultivation from Rs 385 crore last year to Rs 700 crore but agriculture as a sector has not got the impetus it deserved. There will be little for the government to boast about the increase in funds unless it is able to ensure that the farmers get the money, and that too, on time. What is actually required is a revolving fund exclusively for paddy farmers. At present, the farmers get Rs 14.70 and Rs 7.80 per kg as central and state government subsidy, respectively. They now get is separately and it will be a big boon for them if the government makes arrangement to disburse them together.
The governments behave as if it is their mercy when it comes to paddy procurement. Farmers will feel contented if the government gives them the assurance that their welfare will be taken care of. The two villains which attack paddy farmers are weeds and pests that have brought down productivity by 30 to 40 per cent. The normal production from an acre is about 2000 – 2250 kgs of rice but the attack by weeds and pests has seen it come down by 500 kgs. Who will take efforts to ward off this loss?
The budget is silent on the insurance scheme for farmers. A farmer gets a paltry Rs 5,000 for the loss of crops in one acre while his actual loss is its several fold. The government should have included a natural calamity fund in the budget. The intrusion of salt water in to paddy fields in Kuttanad has also not been addressed in the insurance scheme. Similarly pumping subsidy which has been allocated to them before every harvest season has also been pending since 2015.
(Author is executive director, Kuttanad Vikasana Samithi, as told to Cynthia Chandran)
