Is the government바카라s new dole scheme another mirage or will the farmer benefit?
The timing of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme just ahead of the general elections requires no smart guesswork to be decoded. But will this scheme, which aims to give Rs 6,000 annually or Rs 500 per month to farmers holding less than five acres of land, address their needs and win back their support? Many opposition leaders have decried the 바카라miserable바카라 dole to farmers, which in most states is less than two days바카라 wages paid for farm labour.
Prabhakar Kelkar, general secretary of the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, defends the move, calling it a 바카라middle path바카라 adopted by the BJP as it waits for its policy moves to deliver on the promise of doubling the income of farmers.
바카라For small farmers who grow just enough to meet their family needs and have no surplus to sell and make money from, this is a big help, a bonus. The percentage of farmers in this category is very large. The fact that the government has indicated that this amount may be increased in the future is seen as a very positive development by farmers,바카라 says Kelkar, who has been interacting with farmers for feedback. 바카라It바카라s a rebuttal to the pressure being exerted for a farm loan waiver by showing that there are alternative ways of boosting farmers income,바카라 states Kelkar.
Farmer activist Sudhir Panwar, however, describes the government move as an admission of its farm policy failure. 바카라The government appears to have accepted that after three years of record food production, it has to provide dole to farmers. Further, the farm policies implemented in the last four years have failed such that they are providing Rs 500 per month per family, though the amount is hardly of any benefit taking into account the rise in input costs.바카라 Panwar, who is the president of the Kisan Jagriti Manch, states that the relief amount to be given to farmers will not even be enough to cover the inflation in the cost of seeds, fertilisers, diesel and electricity, among other factors.
Panjab Singh, president, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, feels the new scheme should help farmers who have only 2-3 acres of land. But he is not so sure about whether it will make any impact on making agriculture more sustainable. 바카라This is, in a way, better than farm loan waivers, as it would benefit them provided they use it for agriculture. However, we (agriculture experts) always say all this money should be invested in agriculture infrastructure so that it can help farmers onto a sustainable production system,바카라 says Singh.
Abhijit Sen, a former member of the erstwhile Planning Commission, describes it as an 바카라ill thought out scheme바카라. Sen says that as the scheme is entirely based on land records, it would make the rollout complicated and extremely difficult as titles to most farm lands in most states are not properly recorded. Further, as the amount is small, it is not going to make many people actually happy. 바카라In effect, it is messy, it doesn바카라t pay too much and is bound to displease many. Secondly, it does little to remove distortions elsewhere as the argument for cash transfer is that once it is implemented, it will help the government to do away with subsidies and that would remove distortions. This scheme is not going to achieve any of those objectives. Instead, it could create a backlash for the government,바카라 says Sen.
An overlooked scenario is the architectural and administrative problems the scheme is going to create for the agriculture ministry, which is to implement the scheme. 바카라What is not spelt out is that the new scheme will eat into the agriculture ministry바카라s budget leaving very little funds for its core traditional function of improving agriculture productivity and helping farmers,바카라 warns Sen.
Kelkar, however, says states too have the responsibility to help farmers when necessary as =has been done by Telangana. The Centre바카라s decision to invest Rs 75,000 crore for rural development through this scheme is bound to bring rich dividends, he says, adding that the move holds potential to boost market sentiments, encourage rural spending and thereby boost economic growth.
In move to win over farmers for political gains, has the Modi government yet again taken on more than it can deliver? Doles are fine, but they surely cannot deliver on the huge gaps in policy measures to make agriculture more remunerative.
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