Table of Contents
Why in news?
- Agrarian distress in India is increasing in recent times due to various reasons.
Recent agrarian distress?
- Farmers’ groups in Mumbai have pressed for loan waivers, price support measures and compensation for drought.
- Producers of onion, chilies, tomato and garlic have to contend with volatile prices all the time.
- In Madhya Pradesh, the Bhavantar scheme (price difference payment scheme) does not seem to be working well enough, while e-NAM remains a work in progress.
Issues
- Agriculture market
- The surge in input costs
- Distressed due to loans
- Lack of awareness
- Climate change
- India’s urban consumer driven economic policies
- Loan waivers instead of restructuring, reinvestment measures
Suicides
Measures needs to be taken
- Increasing productivity
- Agriculture Livestock and Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2017, takes marketing reforms a few steps forward.
- PPPs in creating market yards and storages should be fast-tracked
- Policies of integrated pest management to prevent pest damage
- Lower fertilizer costs
- Precision farming techniques
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Direct interventions
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