The report "An Economic Strategy for India' co-authored by some eminent economists including our former RBI Governor, Mr. Raghuran Rajan, has rightly suggested that our political establishment should desist from resorting to farm load waivers for political gains.
The report has endorsed the Telangana model of upfront cash support at the time of sowing -the Rythu Bandhu scheme as cure to farm distress, and handing out Rs. 4000 per acre to land-owning farmers.
Based on this limited information as reported in the newspapers, my thoughts are as follows:
a) Recent show of strength by some farmers who marched to Mumbai and Delhi, demanding loan waivers, is a matter of concern. But then what really are the concern areas, did those farmers participating in the march really represent the true nature of our agrarian distress and to what extent, and above all, would a single loan waiver for these very farmers cure all ills plaguing our agrarian sector? These questions need to be evaluated and brought to public discourse for an informed debate on the policy measures required for turning around our agrarian sector,
b) Telangana model has been feted by authors of this report. It would be worthwhile for our policymakers cutting across political ideologies,to institute a comprehensive study on the efficacy of such a measure, especially on the marginal farmers, who are most in need of remedial solutions,
c) Has any public sector bank or any financial institution done even a sample study on those farmers who have availed of loans, to verify if the amounts so disbursed to them have been spent judiciously and for the intended purposes? If so, what have been the findings of such a study?
d) How the farmers in Telangana deal with crop failures on account of various reasons, and what is the support mechanism evolved by the Telangana government for the same?
e) And finally, one of the key problems afflicting the agrarian sector is unfavorable prices for produce when compared to the price paid by the final consumers for the same produce. This needs to be fixed, and among the suggested of measures include breaking of the monopoly of APMC to procure agricultural produce, besides encouraging the industry to join hands with our farming community to ensure a win-win-win formula, that is a formula, which is beneficial to farmers, industrialists, and the final consumers.
All these are of tall order indeed, and would need the foresight of a statesmen at the helm of affairs, to take bold decisions for the benefit of our economy as a whole, key to which lies in our agrarian prosperity.
