Small, marginal farmers rue rising input costs & stray cattle menace

The growing unprofitability of farming is a major reason why alternate employment - or lack of it - is a major election issue in the villages

“A farmer is a farmer — big, middling, or small. His concerns and problems are similar. In this election, the kisan has crystallised into a distinct category, above caste, class, and region,” stated Anshu Sharma, a secretary of the Samajwadi Party (SP), camping at the Sidhauli headquarter (Sitapur district) to Lucknow’s west in Uttar Pradesh. While the long-drawn farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s disputatious laws was largely confined to the western region abutting Delhi and garnered support from the better-off Jats, it resonated in the other parts as well. “The protests gave us a context to reflect on our own