Farmers want support

Say they are more vulnerable due to erratic weather

THE government should offer assured income to farmers and shield them from erratic weather conditions. These are a few of the demands of farmers’ groups from the Union Budget 2011-12, which will be tabled in February-end.

To address the declining growth in agriculture, the government should allocate more funds for sustainable farming, offer direct subsidies to small farmers and introduce scientifically calculated minimum support price (MSP) for crops, noted 11 farmers’ organisations from across the country united under the Indian Coordinations Committee of Farmers Movement (ICCFM) in a press release. Several farmers’ leaders also demanded more funds for research and development in the agriculture and allied sector, and a review of crop insurance schemes.


	Uncertain weather conditions have made farmers’ lives miserable in recent years

	—Yudhvir Singh, general secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Union

Agriculture losing budget

	Budget allocation for the agriculture and allied sector has declined from 15.7 per cent of the total budget estimates in 2008-09 to 9.7 per cent in 2010-11, as per the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, an NGO in Delhi. Centre’s spending on agriculture as a percentage of GDP has also declined— from 2.5 per cent in 2008-09 to 1.56 per cent last year. Allocations in the past four budgets for major agroschemes is not even 80 per cent of the total outlay advised by Planning Commission for 11th Five Year Plan.