We need a national view on the extreme distress farmers are in and what to do to mitigate their suffering, specially with erratic and inadequate monsoons in the last three years. While Uttar Pradesh’s farmers may be pleased with the waiver of loans of over Rs 36,000 crores, not even a court-directed waiver of crop loans to all Tamil Nadu farmers will suffice to compensate them for suffering the worst drought in 140 years. Almost 50 state farmers have been inventing ways to grab attention in a month-long stir in the nation’s capital, with bizarre stunts with skulls, snakes and eating food off the road and stripping naked in front of the PMO. But they have hardly attracted any sympathy from those in power, while Opposition leaders have been gravitating to them.
Their protest symbolises how the problems of those engaged in farming have worsened in the past few years. To bemoan the lack of attention to Tamil Nadu’s farmers would be to miss the wood for the trees. What is happening in India’s farm sector since 2014, when suicides have risen nearly by 40 per cent year on year across states like Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and MP, to name just the top five, requires far greater attention. The UP example of loan waivers is likely to trigger a chain reaction, but waivers aren’t always the ideal route to a solution. A national policy of studied inputs for foodgrain production and a methodology to reach benefits to farmers and farmworkers is missing. Finding solutions should now be a truly collective effort.
