ETV Bharat Special: Farmers across the state in dire situation

First bogus seeds, then diseases and pests on crops, Coronavirus, high rainfall and low rainfall, and subsequent rains have caused huge losses to the farmers. The repercussions of the loss of farmers are being felt across the state with farmers, political parties and farmers' organizations agitating.

Hyderabad: Natural disasters are not new to farmers. Every year at least one season goes out of hand and that makes a huge difference in the income of farmers. This year too, farmers are facing huge challenges from the beginning of the Kharif season to the cultivation of the rabi season.

First bogus seeds, then diseases and pests on crops, Coronavirus, high rainfall and low rainfall, and subsequent rains have caused huge losses to the farmers. The major crops affected in the state are cotton, paddy, sugarcane, soybean, green gram, onion, vegetables, oranges, pomegranates, bananas and others. The repercussions of the loss of farmers are being felt across the state. Farmers, political parties and farmers' organizations are angry and agitations are taking place in some places. ETV Bharat reviews agitations taking place in the state on the issue of agriculture:

Soybean crop hit
Vidarbha and Marathwada have the largest area under soybean cultivation. The Kharif season had satisfactory rainfall after sowing of soybeans. However, due to the issue of bogus seeds in many places, the germination capacity of these seeds reduced. This led to the crisis of double sowing. Most of the farmers sowed soybeans twice. Due to incessant rains in August, intercropping could not take place.

Therefore, crop growth did not get a conducive environment. The soybean crop was severely damaged by torrential rains at the end of August, and the return rains made it impossible. Many soybeans harvested in the fields got soaked and in some places, the stubble was washed away in the floods. So many farmers drove tractors on soybeans.

In Vidarbha, Marathwada, agitations were organized to get compensation for crop loss. The BJP had staged a Holi at the Nagpur District Collector's Office. In Buldana, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana staged an agitation and demanded help. A farmer in Mohgaon in Yavatmal district protested by burning soybeans on five acres as no investigation was carried out. In many places, no damage was reported. Also, many farmers are deprived of help as the crop insurance company is going bankrupt. So some farmers have destroyed soybeans by hitting them with a rotavator. Meanwhile, due to the high cost and low income, many farmers have committed suicide.

Onions tearing people
The rain caused a huge decline in onion production. As a result, onion prices have gone up over the last month. Onion prices in the retail market have reached around Rs 90 to Rs 100. Therefore, farmers who have onions have got huge financial benefits. However, the central government banned onion exports. The Income-tax department also raided traders and imposed restrictions on onion storage. So there is resentment among traders. Lasalgaon in Nashik district is the largest market in Asia. Onion traders in Lasalgaon and Yeola in Nashik district have closed the auction. So the market committees are closed. As a result, the onion is falling near the farmers.NCP President Sharad Pawar intervened and discussed with the traders and appealed to start the auction process. During his visit to Nashik, Pawar assured that a solution would be worked out in two days after discussing with the central government.

Meanwhile, several farmers' organizations became aggressive against the onion export ban. Protests were held in front of the Union Minister's house. In Ahmednagar, Swabhimani activists shut the auction and protested by burning tires. In Parbhani, Congress workers sent onions to the Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister. Also, Holi of the ordinance was held in front of the house of an MP. Nashik's Yeola Prahar Sanghatana protested against the ban on onion export. Minister of State Bachchu Kadu welcomed the onion price hike and expressed the view that prices should go up further.

Cotton growers' agitate
Over the last three years, the area under cotton cultivation in the state has increased significantly. Cotton is widely grown in Vidarbha. In some parts of Amravati and Akola districts, cotton was attacked by the 'red' disease. It could not flower due to heavy rains and the remaining flowers were swept away by the bollworm. As a result, cotton growers are in a helpless situation.

Many farmers demanded an investigation after the cotton bollworm. In some places, the investigation was carried out and in some places, it was ignored. Some farmers applied to the crop insurance company. But the farmers protested as the crop insurance company did not respond. The guaranteed price of cotton has been announced at Rs 5,400. However, it is being sold in the open market for Rs 4,000. Currently, cotton is being sold. So the cotton that is being produced is being taken out for sale. However, due to the non-receipt of the guaranteed price, there is a loss of Rs1000-1500 per quintal. Therefore, there is a demand to start a government cotton procurement centre. Farmers' agitations are taking place in various places for this. Swabhimani organized a cotton phaco agitation in Aurangabad demanding setting up of a cotton shopping centre. An agitation started in Buldana under the leadership of Ravikant Tupkar to start a cotton shopping centre. Also, the agitations of farmers' organizations are going on in various districts. The Aurangabad bench has asked the state government and the marketing federation about starting a cotton procurement centre. This has put pressure on the government to start a cotton procurement centre immediately.

Sugarcane growers' agitation
Due to heavy rains, sugarcane fields have been levelled. The worst affected districts are Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur in western Maharashtra. Also, the issue of sugarcane workers has been resolved recently. The meeting was organized on the initiative of Sharad Pawar. The meeting was attended by Minister Dhananjay Munde, Pankaja Munde and labour representatives. A major decision was taken at the meeting to increase the rates of sugarcane harvesting workers, and transport by an average of 14 per cent. The decision called off the strike.

The 19th Sugarcane Conference of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana is being planned in Kolhapur for this year's sugarcane crushing season. The price of sugarcane will be decided at that conference. Raju Shetty, leader of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, has warned that the struggle will be inevitable if the government does not resolve the issue. Raju Shetty said that this year's sugarcane conference would be held till November with only a handful of delegates from the state. Raju Shetty has warned that the state government will have to accept the role that farmers and Swabhimani will play. In the last one year, many sugar mills have exhausted the FRP of farmers. Sugar mills are required to pay FRP within fourteen days. Yet the FRP of many farmers is exhausted. Raju Shetty has already demanded that interest be paid to farmers.

Paddy growers get aggressive
Paddy growers in Palghar district have suffered heavy losses. More than 75,000 hectares of land is under paddy cultivation in the district. The rice harvested crop came underwater. Palghar, Wada, Vikramgad, Jawahar, Mokhada harvested crops were damaged. The government has announced a subsidy of Rs 10,000 per hectare within the limit of 2 hectares. However, paddy farming requires 50 agricultural labourers per hectare. A labourer has to pay Rs 300. The production cost of paddy cultivation goes up to Rs. 50,000. The farmers are demanding that the farmers should be compensated considering the labour cost and the cost of production

Mango and orange growers are angry with insurance companies
Heavy rains have hit mango and orange orchards. Mango is grown in the Konkan region. There are orange orchards in Nagpur and Amravati districts of Vidarbha. The rains have caused a lot of damage to the oranges in Mrig-bahar.

Moreover, due to lack of price for oranges, orange growers have found themselves in a quandary. Orchard farmers invest a large amount in crop insurance. It consists of large premiums. Therefore, the farmer is hoping to get insurance for the loss. But every year the farmers get nothing despite this. As a result, orchard farmers are angry with insurance companies.

Farmers in Aurangabad had surrounded bank officials for insurance compensation. It was alleged that compensation was being paid to the farmers. Meanwhile, villagers of Gadhwad in Latur district staged a Rasta Roko agitation demanding crop insurance. They also warned to boycott the polls in the coming Assembly elections if the issue is not resolved. This movement of the villagers was also supported by Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana. MP Nilesh Rane has also written a letter to the Deputy Chief Minister seeking help.

10 thousand crore package for flood victims
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a package of 10 thousand crore for flood victims in the state. Accordingly, orchard farmers will get Rs 25,000 per hectare while horticulture and arable farmers will get Rs 10,000 per hectare.

The aid package is 2,635 crore for bridges, Rs. 1,000 crore for rural roads and water resources, 300 crore for urban development, 239 crore for MSEDCL energy department, 102 crore for water resources department for agriculture, housing, the aid is for Rs 5,500 crore which take it to a total of Rs 9,776 crore.

Opposition parties have criticised the package offered by the state government. Meanwhile, the state has asked the central government for help. Although the administration has completed the investigation of losses, help is yet to come for the farmers.