Date:23/06/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/06/23/stories/2004062301701004.htm

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Farmers' woes

Sir, — This refers to the article, "When farmers die" (June 22). One factor that has played a role in farmers' suicides is the high cost of agricultural inputs. Increased use of fertilizers and pesticides lead to pollution and contamination, besides costing the exchequer a huge sum and placing the farmer in debt. We should reduce reliance on fertilizer/pesticide. Another suggestion is that small farmers adopt cooperative farming to mitigate risk of crop failure.

Prashanth Kamath,
Bangalore

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Sir, — The decision of the United Progressive Alliance Government to increase farm credit and reschedule loans is welcome. The earlier governments adopted a populist approach and wrote off huge loans. This created a `non-payment' trend among farmers and even those who had the ability to repay waited for waivers.

Ompal Singh Bhati,
Jodhpur, Rajasthan

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Sir, — The UPA Government should learn from the mistakes of the NDA Government. The NDA did nothing to stop the drain on the exchequer. The Congress-led Government should reduce spending on military hardware. It should curtail the travel expenses and foreign trips of Ministers. Employment generation should be given impetus and unemployed youth given maintenance allowance. As for the share market, it should at best serve as an index.

R. Parthasarathy,
Musiri, T.N.