Provide small farmers social & financial entitlements: IFAD

It was important to provide small farmers social and financial entitlements like crop insurance to help them "absorb shocks" that could occur due to several factors, including natural disasters, a top International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) official said here today.
"We keep on emphasising on empowerment of women and small holder farmers and we need to provide them with social and financial entitlements so as to enable them to absorb shocks," IFAD President Kanayo F Nwanze told reporters here replying to a question on suicide of farmers in the country.
Nwanze, attending the ongoing four-day Asia Pacific regional consultation on "Role of family farming and achieving zero hunger challenge by 2025" at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, referred to an IFAD programme and explained how it provided financial support to rural small farmers to buy crop insurance.

"Farmers can buy insurance (under the programme) for crops
so that they do not fall victims of money lenders who take high percentages of interest," he said.
Describing farmer suicides as sad he asked what small farmers could do to fulfill their family obligations in the absence of social and economic protection.

"We have a responsibility... Both government and supporting institutions like mine," he said stressing the need to help develop programmes to ensure protection of farmers and their families during "shocks" whether due to natural disaster like drought, flood or political disturbances.
Lauding the Union Government for large allocation for agriculture and rural development in the budget for 2014-15, he said it indicated clearly the intention of the government and its recognition of the role of small producers in the economy and in ensuring food security.

"One has to give credit to the government. I am very pleased that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid emphasis on agriculture and on small farmers," Nwanze said referring to "lab to land," address of Modi.