SHILLONG:
The Khasi Jaintia Farmers’ Association (KJFA) on Thursday demanded that the state government waive loans of those who could not repay, due to failure of crops.
A delegation of the KJFA also met and handed a memorandum to the Minister in-charge Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ampareen Lyngdoh requesting her intervention in the matter.
The memorandum said that many farmers have availed agricultural loans from banks and could not repay due to failure of crops. Therefore, there are still many farmers who are indebted on account of loans taken for agricultural purposes.
“The association requests you (the government) to explore ways and means how to provide loan waivers to those farmers who have landed up in this plight,” it said.
The KJFA has also pointed out that the Government of India in the past has allotted huge funds for waiving farm loans of farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and other states and said, “Perhaps this can be replicated here in Meghalaya for those who have fallen into the plight of indebtedness.”
Addressing media persons after her meeting with the farmers, Lyngdoh said that she never realised that farmers in Meghalaya also availed loans for farming practices.
“I don’t know whether the government has any such schemes in hand,” she said while assuring to look into the problems faced by the farming community.
“I need to address this as well and see whether or not we can come to the rescue of these farmers. I cannot commit too much at this point of time,” she added.
The minister also informed that the association had also demanded that government ensure that farming mechanisation equipment reaches the farmers at their locations.
“I have suddenly realised as I have also gone to various parts of the state that there seems to be a disconnect between the departments and farmers. If farmers are meeting me means there is a high probability that these materials are not reaching them,” she said.
Lyngdoh further said that she has decided to take a call on all these matters after completing her travel across the state which will be sometime in the first week of October. Decisions pertaining to the seeds, equipment, agricultural facilities to beneficiaries will be taken.
The minister said that the association has also sought her intervention in the deduction of weight of agricultural produce as it is too heavy a load on the farmers.
“These are problems which need the attention of the government. I don’t think I should sit on the matter but I should make some decisions. People of the state have to give me some time and I will attend to these suggestions I have received from various groups,” she said.