Unnao: Farmers dub agriculture compensation as "lip service"

When Kamal Kumar woke up after the dreadful night of March 16, he could not believe what he saw. “There was a white sheet of hail a foot high in my wheat field. It was a nightmare,” recalls Kamal Kumar of village Nasirapur in Unnao district. “It took 24 hours for it to melt.” But by the time it did, the damage was done.
“The wheat crop that was otherwise ready to be harvested was lying flat in my field. We had already suffered the loss of mango flowers earlier due to erratic rains in early March. This is certainly one of the worst years in our lives.”

When it comes to potato, Kumar’s woes are of a different kind. Thanks to a glut in potato production, there are hardly any takers. “Potato was selling for as low as Rs 300-400 a quintal [Rs 3-4 a kg] this year in mandis, down from Rs 1,000-1,100 last year,” he adds.

You would expect Kumar and others of his ilk to breathe a sigh of relief after the 50% increase in compensation the prime minister announced on Wednesday for losses in Rabi crop. Not quite.

“When the input cost itself is Rs 40,000-50,000 per hectare, what can Rs 13,500 cover,” says Ram Singh of village Heeramanpurwa, Unnao.

On his part, Sakshi Maharaj, member of parliament from Unnao, says, “I have personally surveyed the area along with Union minister of state for agriculture Sanjay Kumar Balyan. We want the right compensation to reach the right candidate,” said Sakshi Maharaj.

Union minister of state for agriculture Sanjeev Kumar Balyan says the survey to determine the extent of crop loss is yet not over. “But based on preliminary figures, the loss of wheat crop should be 4-5% in Uttar Pradesh,” Balyan told ET Magazine. On being asked if the compensation declared by the Centre for affected farmers is enough, he said, agriculture being a state subject, the state governments will also announce similar compensations.

On specific relief measures for the affected farmers of UP, he said, “I have written a letter to the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and have requested for restructuring of farmers’ loans, interest waiver and free power for tube-well usage for a year.”