Lockdown Has Deepened Farm Despair

Steps such as tripling PM-Kisan payout, extending moratorium on farm loans and lifting procurement curbs will help

- A Narayanamoorthy/P Alli

India is on the verge of an economic catastrophe as the humanitarian disaster from the Covid-19 pandemic unfolds. The country’s farm sector is facing the real heat of the 21-day national lockdown, which is disrupting the entire supply chain of agricultural commodities. An unexpected exodus of migrant farm labourers from many parts of the country has left many farmers bereft, triggering labour shortage and halting harvesting, marketing and procurement operations.

Realising the economic loss and the fact that preparations for the harvesting season would get affected due to the lockdown, the Central government intervened quickly by lifting restrictions on essential services linked to agricultural activities. In a move to put money in the hands of the farmers and, at the same time, ensure that they do not go hungry, the Centre announced an immediate transfer of ₹2,000 to all the eligible farm households under the PM-Kisan scheme. Will this be enough to cover the losses that the farmers are facing currently due to the coronavirus lockdown?

State of agriculture

The lockdown has come in the middle of the crucial harvest season for rabi crops, shattering the hopes of many farmers who lost their crops due to excessive rains and drought during the kharif season and were waiting for this rabi harvest to pay back their loans. For farmers who are in the midst of harvesting wheat, gram, mustard and potato in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat, the flight of migrant labourers has spelt trouble.