Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers group demands Rs. 1.5-lakh crore package

Major farmers group Bharatiya Kisan Union has demanded a Rs. 1.5-lakh crore relief package for farmers affected by COVID-19 and lockdown, along with a four-fold increase in the PM-KISAN income support scheme. This comes even as Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar sidestepped questions about a farm sector relief package, saying existing government measures were sufficient. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, BKU national spokesperson Chaudhary Rakesh Tikait said farmers with perishable produce have been hit especially hard by the lack of transport and labour due to the lockdown. “The countrywide lockdown caused lack of transportation that led farmers growing fruits and vegetable crops to let their crops rot in the field. At the same time, fair prices of produce were not available in the markets due to lack of demand. As a result, farmers had no choice but to throw away or destroy their crops,” he wrote, noting that there are reports of farmers across India throwing away tomatoes, gourds, cucumber, grapes, oranges and litchis. He estimated that fruit and vegetable farmers faced 80% crop loss, while many flower farmers lost their entire crop. Such extensive losses mean that farmers do not have the funds needed to plant the next kharif or monsoon season crop, said the farmer leader.

The Hindu

2020-05-01

NEW DELHI