Farmers look to budget for relief and guarantees
New Delhi: When Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rises to present her ninth consecutive budget on Sunday, farmers across the country look ahead for a mix of assurances that range from subsidies, a guarantee on a profitable Minimum Support Price (MSP), expanding credit access, investing in modern technology and infrastructure, to providing climate-resilient support.
The FM has repeatedly assured that Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmly believes to focus on four major castes – ‘Garib’ (poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (women), ‘Yuva’ (youth), and ‘Annadata’ (farmer).
“We’ll build up our ongoing demand for MSP. Also fertiliser subsidy is going down, irrigation facilities need improvement; also, farmers are not being compensated for crop loss due to natural disasters like flood and drought,” stated P Krishnaprasad, a Left-leaning farmer leader associated with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM).
When pointed out that the PM Fasal Bima Yojana was launched specifically for this purpose, to provide affordable insurance against crop loss due to droughts, floods, and pests, he cited instances where the scheme is lacking in delivery.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) is demanding easier and wider market access for growers, rather than a guaranteed base price.
