Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to introduce the renowned farm scientist Dr.MS Swaminathan’s formula, which provides for cost plus 50% remuneration to the farmers as the basis of fixation of MSP for agricultural crops, during the process of finalization of union budget for the year 2014-15.In a letter to Mr. Jaitley, the Chief Minister impressed upon him to make agriculture far more sustainable besides ensuring no farmer was compelled to either leave this occupation or commit suicide thereby seeking his personal intervention for a slew of pro-farmer measures to be included in the union budget proposals.
The Chief Minister pleaded instead of vying for mere crop persification, greater stress should be given to agriculture persification, meaning thereby that allied activities such as dairying, fisheries and other subsidiary occupations should also be included in the agriculture persification programme for financial assistance. Likewise, small and marginal farmers should be provided interest free short term crop loans whereas other farmers should be provided crop loans at 2%, and agriculture investment credit at 6% rate of interest. In order to remove debt stress and check shameful acts of suicides by farmers, one time debt relief package should be announced for all farmers. Like agriculture, dairy, fisheries and other subsidiary activities should also be given exemption from payment of income tax.
Citing the background of the state’s agrarian economy, Mr. Badal apprised the Union Finance Minister that Punjab has been the cradle of green revolution in the country. The production technology available for wheat and rice, supported by the appropriate policies and complemented with the required investments and institutional infrastructure by the State, resulted in a spurt in their productivity and production in a record time. Owing to low production risk and assured marketing of wheat and rice, about 80% of the arable area came under these two crops. The state has been contributing about 30-40% food grains to the central pool to ensure the food security of the Nation.
The Chief Minister further mentioned that the production potential of the available technology of these crops had already been nearly exploited and was now almost reached plateau in growth and real farm incomes and over-exploitation of state's only available natural resources i.e. soil and water. The very sustainability of the wheat-rice production system was under severe threat and climate change was too posing a new challenge for future agriculture growth. Like the earlier agricultural development, future growth, would also depend upon technology development supported by the public policies, relevant institutional changes and facilitating increased investment from the private sector as well.Badal said that these measures would not only remove ever increasing stress on agriculturists but also help to bring agriculture sector on a path of high trajectory growth and development with the assurance of better quality living for farmers of our country.