Budget lacks concrete plans to address farmers’ distress: Shanthakumar

Karnataka State Farmers’ Organisations Federation president Kurubur Shanthakumar on Friday expressed disappointment with the State Budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, stating that it fails to provide concrete plans to address the problems faced by farmers.

In a statement, he said Karnataka currently ranks second in the country in terms of farmer suicides, yet the budget does not include any effective schemes to prevent such tragedies. Due to increasing hardship in agriculture, farmers’ children are losing interest in farming and are migrating in search of other employment opportunities, he said.

He pointed out that young men from farming families are facing difficulty in finding brides, which has become a serious social issue. The government has not announced any comprehensive plans to tackle these challenges, which could further weaken the agriculture sector, he opined.

However, he acknowledged that some announcements in the budget were encouraging. For instance, the plan to establish storage facilities for horticultural produce in Davanagere and Vijayapura districts, the focus on the sericulture sector, and the ₹20 increase in the transportation subsidy for silkworm cocoons could benefit farmers.

The scheme to provide loans worth ₹38,000 crore at zero interest to 30 lakh farmers is an existing scheme and not a new initiative, he claimed.

A 25% subsidy for the purchase of cows and buffaloes would offer some support to the dairy sector, the farmer leader said, while welcoming the expansion of Sri Jayadeva Hospital in Mysuru for the benefit of heart patients.