UKPSC/UPSC FREE MAINS WRITING PRACTICE(01/01/19,AGRARIAN DISTRESS
QUESTION1/1/19:
A loan waiver is only an element of immediate relief .Discuss the institutional solutions that the government of India must deliver to farmers to tackle the agrarian distress .Q: ऋण माफी केवल तत्काल राहत का एक तत्व है। कृषि संकट से निपटने के लिए भारत सरकार को संस्थागत समाधानों पर विचार करना चाहिए.|चर्चा करें?
Read the article to understand the issue.
A loan waiver is only an element of immediate relief. It is an acknowledgment that farmers have been pushed into debt due to the systemic failures of the government. The burden on farmers on account of just three items (lack of compensation during drought and disasters, the failures of the crop insurance scheme, and the deficit due to prices falling below the announced Minimum Support Prices) runs to tens of thousands of crores every season. Farmer organisations can justifiably claim that it is the nation that is indebted to the farmers, and not the other way around. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
In addition to reforming the credit system, agriculture should be made profitable by ensuring fair remunerative prices, lowering the cost of cultivation, and promoting viable farmer collectives and sustainable models of agriculture.
The challenge before political parties and governments is to deliver on the institutional solutions demanded by farmers. The farming community is not likely to relent if governments adopt a business-as-usual approach and kick the can down the road for the next term.
