Expressing deep concern over continuing incidences of farmers’ suicide, the Odisha Krushak Mahasangha has suggested to the Government to make each revenue village a unit for crop insurance and protect interest of tenant cultivators (sharecroppers).
“laws should be made for making an agreement between the land owners and tenant cultivators to enable the latter get compensation in case of failure of crops. The agreement can be possible if a provision is made to protect the right of land owner,” said OKM president Bibhudhendra Pratap Das.
He suggested that the insurance premium can be collected at the time of collection of land revenue.
The former MlA said the cultivators should be provided farm loans with zero per cent interest rate for which the Government has to establish a separate bank other than the Cooperative Bank.
Das suggested that food processing units and cold storages need to be established to provide a strong market base to farmers.
For this, entrepreneurs should be provided bank loans at one per cent interest rate and exempted taxes on purchase of machineries. They should be provided Government lands for setting up units.
For farmers’ social security, farmers above 60 years of age should be provided pension of `1,500 per month. For this, the Government should deposit `3 lakh with the Insurance company by diverting fertiliser subsidy.
At the same time, there should be a condition that the farmers would be covered under the insurance scheme if they use organic fertiliser and pesticide.
To provide water to agriculture lands in hilly areas, the Government has undertake plantation activities massively as water flow in streams has reduced by 60 per cent due to destruction of forest on hills. In drought-prone blocks, the all MNREGS funds should be diverted and spent for construction of check dams, Das suggested.
life time should be fixed for all irrigation projects. If new works and renovated and repair works get damaged before the lifetime, then the amount spent may be recovered from the concerned contractor.
For this purpose, bank guarantees may be taken from contractors, Das suggested. Besides, a part of money should be recovered from salary and pension of Government official executants.