According to the analysis of Jan KisanAndolan over the relief package of Rs. 1.75 lakh crore announced by the Finance Minister of India today. They felt they should have received a package more than 2000 Rupees as a new relief and they would have received this sum of Rs.2000/- in April 2020, said Yogendra Yadav, Founder of Jai KisanAndolan.
AvikSaha, National Convenor, JaiKisanAndolan, said: While additional food and some monetary entitlements were announced which may lead of saving of lives, already tenuous and crisis-ridden livelihood of farmers have been completely ignored and are on the verge of being destroyed. Winter crops of cereals, pulses, potatoes and seasonal crops of vegetables of farmers all over India are ready for harvest and sale at agri markets but the government has to act proactively on how during the lockdown period farmers will harvest their crops, transport it to markets and sell the same and derive income. Milk and Poultry farmers are in similar quandary. He was anxious that March-April is the period when farmers derive their half-yearly income which sustains them for the next 6 months, before the monsoon crops are ready for harvest and sale.
Jai KisanAndolan demands that the Central and all State Governments should:
1. Issue Special ID Cards or Passes to Farmers, farm produce transporters, vendors etc. to carry out daily operations
2. Ensure that wholesale agri-markets remain open for transaction, maintaining due norms and precaution of social distancing and medical protection
3. To minimise travel and gathering, government agencies should immediately commence mobile procurement of farm produce (especially perishable produce)
4. Ensure that the e-NAM system actually works and bulk of the transactions can be done online
5. Declare moratorium on all loans for a period of one year, subject to review after control of the pandemic
We Sincerely hope that the government considers the speculative stock market operation vital for economy and therefore protect from lockdown and considers production of food as secondary and therefore giving due attention.
The Information gives due respect to the thoughts of Jan KisanAndolan and are not the views of the Author
