Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers, experts hail agri allocation in Budget

PATNA: The farming and allied sector in Bihar has welcomed the budgetary allocations in the general budget presented by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday. The Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess, expansion of Operation Green Scheme and allowance of state-run Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) to access Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) among other provisions are the key attractions. “The agricultural infrastructure based policies will be beneficial for farmers in the long run. The state government was already focusing on strengthening the agricultural infrastructure, and now the support by national policies will facilitate easy funding from the national pool,” said Anil Kumar Jha, deputy director of the agriculture department. Sudhanshu Kumar, a Samastipur-based farmer said the decision to allow state-run APMCs to access AIF is the most beneficial takeaway, which will strengthen farmers in the state. “At present, the farmers receive Rs50,000 to 1 lakh at 7% interest with a 3% rebate, if they timely repay the loan on their Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) but increased fund amount at the same interest rate will surely encourage farmers to buy and use new technology for more production. Moreover, the surplus funds for wheat and paddy procurement will ensure timely payment to the farmers,” Kumar added. On the new farm laws introduced by the Centre, he said, “If anyone is protesting politically, then no matter what anyone does, it won’t make any difference, but if a genuine farmer is protesting for MSP and non-abolition of APMC mandis then the budget has assured that the government is not thinking of doing away with MSP, but is allocating funds so that more and more crops can be bought at the MSP. If one observes the budget, there is a mention of creating 1,000 new mandis.” Abdus Sattar, an agro meteorologist at the Rajendra Agriculture University, Pusa, said, “The most important aspect in the budget for the agriculture sector is that the government has fixed a target of Rs15.6 lakh crore for lending to farmers and if implemented properly, it will accelerate agriculture growth and production.” Devendra Yadav, a Madhubani-based farmer hailed the government’s vision of doubling farmers’ income. “The farming community is extremely happy with this year’s budget allocation. We pledge our support to the government’s Aatmnirbhar Bharat vision,” he said. Amid the jubilation, there is a section of farmers that believes the government is not supporting them fully. “There was no announcement on even flagship schemes like PM-KISAN. We were expecting that the amount of Rs6,000 would be increased this year,” said Yashwant Kumar Singh, a farmer from Rohtas.

The Times of India

2021-02-03

Patna