Farmers’ suicide in the State has increased to a disturbingly high figure. It has been highlighted on a number of occasions in this column that we have neglected the agro-rural sector though almost three-fourths of the population depends on the same.
Of late, there is a sudden outburst of enthusiasm on the part of the State Government to project its increased concern for this sector. The Chief Minister recently stated at a function at the OUAT that the State Government would be increasing the budgetary outlay for farm sector by `100 crore and the allocation for water resources by `500 crore. But such statements do not appear to have brought any solace to the farming community. The claim of round-the-clock availability of water is contrary to the stark reality at the ground level.
There have been surprising indicators. More than `13 crore, out of a total of around `45 crore, meant to be disbursed by the Government as compensation for damages to the crops during the Phailin cyclone disaster, has remained unutilised and undistributed. Three years have gone by from the time this calamity struck the State. A strange statement has been made by a District Emergency Officer that farmers are not interested to receive the compensation for damages to their crops. This situation must have been occasioned by maladministration and lack of adequate sincerity on the part of the field staff. To recollect, the Phailin had damaged crops in around 566 hectares in Salepur tehsil, in 727 hectares in Barang, 19,325 in Athagarh, 5,951 hectares in Damapada, 6,339 hectares in Banki, 196 hectares in Cuttack Sadar, 19,053 hectares in Narasinghpur, 6,617 hectares in Tigiria, 1,943 hectares in Tangi-Choudwar, 9,558 hectares in Mahanga and in 13,164 hectares in Badamba tehasil. These sample figures are illustrative of the intensity of the Phailin. In this background, the farming community, not being interested in receiving compensation exceeding Rs 13 crore, is not a believable proposition. This is an indicator of the extent of casual attitude in the implementation of ameliorative measures to compensate the producer of our basic necessity such as food.
The Prime Minister has hoped that at least 50 per cent of the farmers must be insured within the next two years under the Pradhan Mantri Crop Insurance Scheme. But what is inherently lacking in the scheme is an insurance for an increasingly climate and vulnerable activities such as farming. The system of verification at the ground level remains utterly neglected. The assessment is done by the Patwari or the Revenue Inspector, the lowest in the rung of officers in the district administration. No wonder, there are outcries of maladministration coupled with tales of corruption. One wonders why new technologies like remote-sensing to mobile-based image-capturing are not adopted. There is another disturbing aspect in the crop insurance scheme. If one penetrates into the glossy mask, one would come to know the real beneficiary for the scheme. Very often, the benefit of the insurance flows not to the farmers but to the banker. It is mandatory for all farmers who avail of a bank loan under the Kisan Credit Card to have an insurance policy as an integral part of the package deal. Substantial numbers of farmers often do not have adequate knowledge of these detailed intricacies. The insurance premium is deducted as a charge to avail of the loan, and when the claim is paid, the bank claims the first charge on it. Additionally, the large mass landless tillers and farm labourers go uncared for and do not have any social security protecting their interests in the calamitous days of flood, cyclone and drought.
Despite this gloomy scenario, propagandist advertisements and statistical projections devoid of any realistic basis are projected painting a happy and glorious picture of the agricultural sector. The publicity undertaken through public expenditure has also attracted the attention of the Supreme Court. The apex court has limited and identified the persons, whose pictures can appear in advertisements or hoardings put up at public expenses. While the rural economy continues to decline in its health and performance, corporate advertisements and hoardings funded by the public exchequer or the public sector undertakings have mushroomed without any corresponding improvement in the economic scenario.
Setting up industries like islands in a desert does not convert themselves to be perennial sources of growth. Both the Central and State Governments have indiscriminately indulged in this propaganda and publicity hype without any alteration of the prevalent structure of the agro-rural sector. We should not forget that the undivided State of Punjab did not have any significant industrial investment at the initial stage. However, with the hop-step-and-jump of the agro-rural sector, industries followed suit and provided substantial employment and economic prosperity. We have never looked at agriculture and allied activities, including horticulture, floriculture, etc., to be as good as any industrial activity. The banks, whether public or private, have been sluggish in taking care of the requirements of rural credit.
While Odisha is loudly announcing that it shall turn itself into a showcase for investment potentials for “Make-in-India”, the agro-rural sector remains an area of darkness in so far as any kick-start in this direction is concerned. It is worth noticing that Sikkim has adopted “organic farming” as a measure of policy. We have hardly looked at this important aspect and continued to subject ourselves to the politics of fertiliser distribution. Most of the chemical fertilisers kill worms and insects that add to the efficacy and fertility of land. Animal husbandry and pisciculture continue to be controlled by the “prawn-dollar-mafia”, an expression used in an important judgment of the Orissa High Court.
In this scenario, a dominant section of the youth is migrating to the so-called urban areas. This adds to the maladies of the agro-rural sector and inhibits any structural change as the same is reduced to being a source of survival of the have-nots. The elders in our community do not seem to appreciate that the slogan ought to be “back to the villages, back to the land, back to growing roots of base level prosperity”. The additional fillip in this neglected sector is the cornerstone sustainable and fast growth in the entire economic environ. Goods and services are still not substitutes for satisfying our hunger for food. The quality and nutritional standard of food is also to be ensured by carrying knowledge from the “labs” to the “land”. The disoriented and lopsided picture can be altered by purposive public movement and actions. This causes for organised and intense attention of involvement for ensuring a better future for the coming generations. This certainly is not a concern for any limited section of the society and must involve one and all in the regenerating and rejuvenating activities. And this surely concerned all of us!
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editor, a former President of Orissa High Court Bar Association and a former Advocate General of Odisha. jayantdas@hotmail.com)