Farmers Climate Changed

  • Abhishek Behl / FG
  • India
  • Mar 27, 2015

The untimely rains and hailstorm across Haryana and many parts of India (except the South) have dented the confidence of the farming community as well as the State Agriculture department, which was in an upbeat  mood after the success of the recent Agri Leadership Summit in Gurgaon. Neither technology nor the State apparatus has any solution to this problem. There has therefore been just the ‘routine’ announcement of compensation to farmers (directly and indirectly - as in waiver of power bills), which however is likely to take months to be paid out, after due ‘assessment.’ The net result of the untimely rainfall is that the wheat and Rabi crop output in the State is likely to fall by 15 to 25 per cent. In Gurgaon district also the production of wheat will go down, particularly in Pataudi block, and mustard and potato will take a big hit. As per a survey conducted by the Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), this year wheat had been sown early or just in time in almost 70% of the 24.78 lakh hectares under wheat cultivation in the State. This crop has been the worst affected by the untimely rains. HAU had predicted a bumper wheat crop this year

In Gurgaon district, wheat, mustard and vegetables have suffered badly. The orchards in Farukhnagar, Pataudi and other rural areas, which grow different fruits, are also likely to face a big loss of produce. Rakesh Sehrawat, a progressive farmer of village Mankdola, whose family has won several awards for agriculture, rues the fact that there is no State insurance scheme for farmers that suffer because of natural calamities. "Farming is a risky business, and also needs high invesment if you want better productivity. The government should therefore provide some risk cover. The compensation that will be given now is unlikely to cover even the basic cost," says Sehrawat. He takes the Friday Gurgaon team to his large wheat fields, where the crop can be seen bent and uneven, instead of standing straight. The farmers are in fact facing a double whammy: it costs double to harvest the damaged crop. In Dhankote village, Rampal, who oversees the labour that is harvesting the crop, tells Friday Gurgaon that the mustard crop has completely gone black and been rendered useless. "The cost of farming is increasing every day. Water, power, labour and fertilisers have become very costly, and the government also does not make these available at subsidised prices. The rates that we get for the produce are also less. Today only the middlemen are making money in agriculture," says Rampal. The farmers in Gurgaon want the State government to deliver on the promises made during the recent Agri Leadership Summit: like insurance for farmer’s fields and produce, an increase in farm loans, and the setting up of an agricultural produce dry port in the State. In addition, they also want the proposed Land Acquisition Bill to be fair and transparent, which they believe is not the case at present. Rajesh Yadav, an activist and landowner of Badshahpur village, which has been almost urbanised, says that whatever is happening in the name of compensation is a formality. "If the State government has announced Rs 10,000 compensation to every farmer, then they should pay it at the earliest. Putting the onus on a patwari who is sitting in his office, to assess the loss, is not the right way. Sarson, gehun, jo, chana and vegetables like gobhi, ghiya, touri and kheera have suffered badly," says Yadav. On land acquisition, he asks why farmers cannot become collaborators with the builders. "If a builder can get FAR for housing if his land comes in the way of proposed roads, then farmers should also get FAR if their land is acquired for roads and other infrastructure projects," says Yadav. 

Babu Lal, a senior Agriculture dept. official in Gurgaon, says that a survey has been carried out by the Department, to assess the loss, and a report has been sent to the government. He says s that the crop loss has been medium to extensive, and villages like Nurgarh, Mangwati, Brahmanpur and Jatauli in Pataudi and Farukhnagar block have suffered maximum loss. "Wheat and mustard have been affected more, and the vegetable produce will also suffer," he says. The Revenue department is also conducting a crop survey in every village, and the compensation would be assessed by its officials. With the State Agriculture minister exerting pressure for speedy compensation, the farmers are hopeful that the officialdom will deliver the compensation soon. State officials say that the damage in Gurgaon has been less extensive than that in other districts of the State. They also clarify that normally compensation is paid when the loss is more than 50 per cent. Farmer Rakesh Sehrawat does not agree, and says that the loss has been uniform across NCR, with farmers in neighbouring Delhi also facing trouble (for example, in Kanganhera, Nanakheri, Pandwalakhurd, Jhatikra, Bawana, Chandpur and Sultanpur villages in Outer Delhi, near Najafgarh and Bawana). Farmers say that the quality of produce is also going to be poor, and it is unlikely that this yield will get the right price. Sehrawat adds that prices of vegetables, which come from nearby NCR areas, have already shot up by 25 to 30 per cent. Traders in Gurgaon say that the arrival of fruits and vegetables has been slower in the last few days, which has led to rise in prices. The issue of price rise has already forced the Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia to direct the officials of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee to keep prices in check. It is being feared that while the untimely rain has hit fruits and vegetables in the short run, its long term impact would be on wheat, which will add to food inflation (which has started to moderate). In fact food inflation is set to rise across the country, as agricultural produce has also been severely hit in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra and Gujarat. 

Haryana Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankhar, who is known as a farmer leader, has said that the assessment of crop damage is being conducted across the State. There are reports that in some areas the losses are almost hundred per cent. "We will arrange the funds and provide maximum compensation to the farmers," the Minister has assured. Compensation is given to farmers through State and National Disaster Response Funds in the form of Agriculture input subsidies, wherever the crop loss is assessed to be higher than 50 per cent due to a notified natural calamity. For rain fed crops the rate of compensation is Rs 4,500 per hectare, for irrigated crops it is Rs 9,000 per hectare, and Rs 12,000 per hectare for perennial crops. There is also a provision for assistance restricted to sown area where the crop loss is lower than 50 per cent.  Farmers say that bracketing the compensation into less or more than 50 per cent will lead to unnecessary arguments and delays. Vashisht Goyal, a Gurgaon-based social activist, says that the government should take a considerate view of the plight of the farmers and pay compensation to all of them. More subsidies should also be given to them because of the losses, and water and power supply should be assured at cheap rates in rural areas. "How will the cities survive if farms do not produce adequate food?” he asks. BJP leaders say that the government has taken cognizance of the problems faced by the agriculturists in the State and would alleviate their sufferings soon. GL Sharma, State Executive Member, BJP Haryana, says that the Agri Leadership Summit has helped to send the message to farmers that the BJP is pro-farmer and pro-agriculture. "The government has ordered an urgent assessment of the crop loss and the farmers will get their due compensation soon. Our government has also promised farm insurance, which will help to risk-proof the farmers," he asserts. Farmers like Rampal and Rakesh are keeping their fingers crossed. They know how the bureaucracy functions, and they are just hoping that this time, under the new dispensation, the State will deliver on its promises. Everyone is also now hoping that the recent improvement in the weather might help salvage some of the damaged crops.

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