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Farmers' plight in J&K

Kashmir Times. Dated: 4/26/2015 12:21:40 AM

PDP-BJP coalition has yet to come to grips of the problems faced by farmers due to crop failures during past few years

The plight of farmers in Jammu and Kashmir, who are suffering losses in terms of crops during the past few years owing to various reasons including natural calamities have come into focus with the suicide committed by a farmer from Rajasthan in New Delhi during AAP rally a few days back. The state government's apathetic attitude towards its farmers has been playing havoc with the sentiments of the farming community which has been demanding relief during the past many years but no sincere effort has been made to redress their sufferings. Even during the current season, the crops across the length and breadth of J&K have been extensively damaged due to unseasonal rains, hailstorm and snowfall all over the state and farmers have been crying for help from the state government and its agencies. Only recently, the state government has selectively asked the revenue department to prepare assessment of losses suffered by the farmers in Kargil where heavy snowfall played havoc with horticulture crops. But as such no serious thought has been given by the authorities for making assessment of losses suffered by farmers in Jammu region. The recent heavy and continuous rains have led to damage to standing crops of grains in the entire region besides extensive damage to horticulture sector in the hilly areas and entire Kashmir valley. No remedial measures have been of any help for the farming fraternity till date. Rough estimates have put the expected yield of crops to less than 10 percent of usual production of grains every year. Since the farm sector workers are not organized, only a handful of farmers made it to the capital city of Jammu and raised their voice for seeking attention of the state government on the issue of losses suffered by them. But as such no government agency has taken note of the sufferings of the farmers and no significant announcement has been made till date to provide some sort of succour or relief to the farmers to compensate for the losses. The people from Jammu region had high hopes from the coalition government but unfortunately, none of their representatives in the ruling parties have made an attempt to understand the problem.
Apart from this, the farmers have also expressed their resentment against the attitude of the state government for not compensating them for the crop losses suffered on account of last year's floods. The production of grains including paddy, maize, bajra and jawar of last year has been only ten percent of the expected yield from the crops after the devastating floods played havoc with standing crops last year. The crops suffered extensively when they were about to be harvested all over the state. Similar tragedy has been happened this year also when unseasonal rains lashed most parts of the state when the crops were ripe for harvest. Crop insurance has been totally missing in J&K like most parts of India where crop insurance is yet to be introduced and made operational by the BJP-led NDA government, which promised to compensate the farmers to the full extent even in the event of partial loss to their crops due to natural calamities. The agriculture loans which have been mounting due to successive failure of crops in most parts of India have been pinching the pockets of the farmers, who have nowhere to go. The state and central governments have yet to take a decision to compensate the farmers for the losses besides examining the issue of waiving off farm loans. The farmers have been crying for help for the past many years but no serious action has been initiated by the government in this direction. So far J&K is concerned, the farmers are waiting for the compensation and free rations from the government, which made announcements in this regard last year as well as on earlier occasions. The government and its agencies need to move fast and address these serious issues before the farmers are forced to take extreme like committing suicide to escape the burden of mounting debts J&K. Besides this, the government also needs to fulfill its promise for providing free rations to all farmers who have suffered losses to their crops during the past few years.