Plight of farmers is grave: former Maharashtra bureaucrat

The status of the peasant community is one of grave concern because of the vagaries of monsoon and volatile market conditions, said Sunil Kendrekar

Hyderabad: The status of the peasant community is one of grave concern because of the vagaries of monsoon and volatile market conditions. Suicides are continuing unabated. The phenomenon has been eluding a solution, said Sunil Kendrekar, a senior bureaucrat who opted for voluntary retirement after dropping a bombshell in the form of a survey report which revealed that over 1 lakh farmers were showing the signs of extreme distress in Maharashtra.

In an interview with Telangana Today, he said the situation was not so appalling even during the rule of the erstwhile Nizam. There were no subsidies, no roads, no power and not many facilities, but farmers did commit suicides those days.

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As part of the Maharashtra survey findings, farmers in extreme state of distress were categorized as part of the highly vulnerable section. They were to be watched for and measures to be initiated to address the suicide tendencies among them. Besides this, another 2 lakh farmers were identified to be in distress, relatively less vulnerable. The startling findings were unusual of a government sponsored survey.

The survey was conducted by him in his capacity as the Divisional Commissioner of Marathwada involving the administrative network. It was an extensive survey with a questionnaire of over 130 points covering the whole gamut of issues farmers were facing in the region. Not that every farmers in distress would commit suicide, but some were likely to resort to the extreme step, he said.

The tendencies were obvious in fairly a good number of them, he added stating that the suicides in the State could not be denied. The root cause has to be identified and addressed on priority. “I have been on this mission since 2015. I had a brief stint as the Commissioner for Agriculture in 2017,” he said.

‘I have studied farmer sector issues from the close quarters. I have conveyed my observations to my Chief Minister of the day. I requested him to do away with the redundant schemes of the day which failed to the address the vulnerability of farmers. I had sincerely advocated passing on the direct benefit to the farmers account. If the first crop is failed, at least they can be assured of the next,” he said, adding that the farmer should have the choice of spending it on his pressing needs.

If the government chooses to provide a drip irrigation system, it may be of little use for the farmer whose immediate need might be only good seed. Some farmers have other issues to address. Many have daughters above 22 years, yet to be married.

The farmers should not be reduced to the status of beggars. The irony is that those who do not know ABCD of farming are deciding on what the farmers should do and what should be his crop pattern and the kind of farm implements to be provided to him. This practice in Maharashtra should change, he said.

The crop investment would be in the range of Rs 20,000 to Rs 24,000 for normal crops like soyabean. The farmers should be extended assistance to the tune of at least half of the crop investment as direct benefit transfer, he stressed, adding that his survey found that some 19,000 farmers were suffering from severe diseases.

They account for nearly 10 per cent of the farmers approached as part of the survey. They should be the first segment to be reached out with the needed services.

It may be noted that the Maharashtra government responded to the survey stating that it was not possible to implement the recommendations made by Kendrekar as part two of the survey report. The Government however did not explain as to why it could not be implemented.