The country has been experiencing an unprecedented crop harvesting due to the Covld-19 pandemic. Planners and economists have already forecast a difficult year for the economy and the projected high growth rate of the GDP may not be achieved. The short-term credit structure of co-operative is now facing a major challenge to combat the situation.
Farming process of crops like paddy, vegetables and oil seeds has been badly damaged. Due to Covld-19, transportation is also affected. Besides, seeds and fertilisers are not available adequately for growing short duration crops. Imbalanced rains have worsened the situation.
As the largest dispenser of farm credit, the Odisha State Co operative Bank and 17 District Central Cooperative Banks should come forward to disburse adequate loans by living up to the expectation of the farming community, given the current crisis time.
The Kharif finance limit for the year 2020-21 is Rs 9,000 crore and the Rabi finance limit for the same year is Rs 4,000 crore in Odisha. The State Cooperative Bank and all the 17 District Central Cooperative Banks have also been advised to encourage the farmers to undertake short duration crops wherever possible and the finance is viable through the 2,708 of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies in Odisha by the advice of the State Level Banker's Committee (SLBC). It is practicable and effective through the departments of Agriculture and Co-operation.
The Government of India has also taken steps as part of the National Cooperative Policy for the agriculture sector in presence and monitoring by the Chairman NABARD and all State Registars of Cooperative Societies, Departmental Secretaries and representatives of State Cooperative Banks. So always the growth of the country depends on the economic growth of agriculture and agriculturists.
In Gujrat, Maharastra, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, a large number of tribal people live and the condition of these labourers is very much like that of slaves. These are called in different names in different States. There are a number of factors responsible for the continuous and enormous increase in the number of agricultural labourers in India.
The important factors are increase in population, decline of cottage industries and handicrafts and village industries, eviction of small farmers and tenant from land, uneconomic holdings, and increase in indebtedness, capitalistic agriculture, and displacement of means and subsidiary occupations, disintegration of peasantry and disintegration of joint family system. Major initiatives adopted by the Government for ameliorating the economic condition of agricultural labourers are passing of Minimum Wage Act.,
abolition of bonded labourers, providing land to landless labourers, provision of housing to houseless, special scheme for providing employment, Crash Scheme for Rural Employment (CSRE), Pilot Intensive Rural Employment Project (PIREP), Food for Works Programmes (FWP), National Rural Employment Programme (NREP), Rural Landless Employment Programme (RLEP), Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP), Jawahar Rojgar Yojana (JRY), Desert Development Programme (DDP),
National Scheme for Trainging for Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSM), Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA), Abolition of Bonded Labourer Act. (ABLA), Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP).
Some suggestions that may help the the socio economic improvement of the agricultural labourers are better implementation of legislative measures, re-settlement of agricultural workers, improvement in the bargaining position, creating alternative sources of employment, protection of women and child labourers, improvement in agricultural sector, regulation of hours of work, improving the working conditions, credit at cheaper rates of interest, proper training for improving skill of farm labourers, co-operative farming and successful execution of MGNREGS etc.
(Ex-Director Co-operative Bank, Bangalisahi, PO. Telenga Bazar, Dist Cuttack - 9 Mob : 8018005702, 9090325802)