Farmers' plight: Concern in Lok Sabha Oppn for stimulus package

Concern was voiced in the Lok Sabha on Monday over the plight of farmers, with Opposition members demanding a stimulus package for agriculture and a special session of Parliament to discuss the problems in the countryside.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Rajnath Singh (BJP) also wanted that MNREGA should be linked with agriculture as there was crisis of skilled labour for working in the fields after the scheme was brought into force. Singh, who was supported by several opposition members, sought declaration of farming as a ‘national occupation’, given the fact that majority of the population depended upon agriculture.

He also wanted immediate implementation of the M S Swaminathan Committee recommendations to tackle the “grim situation” facing the agriculture sector.

Singh, who recently visited coastal Andhra Pradesh, said he was concerned over the decision of farmers of about eight districts including East Godavari not to produce paddy in view of not getting remunerative prices.

“They are not able to recover even input costs,” he said. He said the farmers from the area have declared “a crop holiday or a strike which is an unprecedented development in the agriculture sector in the country” and could affect food security.

Maintaining that a similar situation was facing farmers in other parts of the country too, Singh sought Rs 10,000 per acre as compensation to the affected farmers. His party colleague K D Deshmukh pointed towards severe shortage of fertiliser in Balaghat and Seoni areas of Madhya Pradesh.