Opinion - Editorials

A vital visit to Vidharbha

The standout feature of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Vidharbha is its socio-political significance. The Central Government has now recognised the prevalence of an agrarian crisis of major proportions. Images of the visit include the countenance of a Prime Minister visibly shaken by the extreme deprivation and distress he encountered in `shining India.' The visit has put both Vidharbha farmers' suicides and rural indebtedness in the country on the national radar. It comes as a reprimand to a complacent and inactive State Government. It serves as a critical comment on the performance of the Union Ministry of Agriculture. It brings into focus an issue that this newspaper, through its Rural Affairs Editor and some other correspondents, has been covering in some depth. It highlights the divisions within rich Maharashtra where people in poorer regions like Vidharbha are neglected. In a State whose major political leaders have not been to a single affected household, the Prime Minister came exclusively to hear what ordinary rural folk had to say.

The Rs.3,750 crore crisis mitigation package announced for six districts in Vidharbha rocked by farmers' suicides might see some contestation over the fine print. But the announcement that every farmer in these districts can now expect a fresh crop loan comes as a great relief. Across the region are fields ready for cultivation but whose owners do not have the money to buy seed and other inputs. This step could help them tide over the current season. The visit also raises the question of why the State Government could not have shown more energy earlier and saved lives — instead of being in denial. Two key questions will be asked now. Does the farmer feel less burned in the pocket after the prime ministerial visit? Does he see hope on the horizon and will that halt the suicides? People were clearly enthused by Dr. Singh's visit but their answers to these questions could be less cheerful. The short-term measures to staunch the bleeding are absolutely necessary. However, there has been no debt waiver and no rise in the minimum support price for cotton, Vidharbha's mainstay. Nor has there been a restoration of the Rs.500 a quintal `advance bonus' that was cancelled last year by the State Government, which takes away over Rs.1,000 crore from the cotton economy annually. Food crop cultivation in this food-insecure zone has seen no incentives. The import duty on cotton remains 10 per cent at a time when the United States and the European Union have given their growers billions of dollars in subsidies. No package, however humane and progressive, can be sustainable if it runs counter to larger national policy in that sector. For a viable solution to the crisis, farmers in distress must have immediate relief — and, at least as important, policies that do not disable them. The Prime Minister's visit to Vidharbha must lead to a rethink on both fronts.

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