'Bommai govt’s performance in agriculture pushed farmers into crisis'

None of the reports by a civil rights group on various sectors has given a pass grade to the Bommai government

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Bahutva Karnataka, a civil rights group, released a report card on Monday on the performance of the Basavaraj Bommai government in the agriculture sector, for which it got an ‘E’ grade.

The report card accuses the state government of pushing farmers into a deep crisis by passing anti-farmers laws and floating schemes against. “The Karnataka Land Reforms Act Amendment ensured that cases of illegal land purchase were legalised. The rich and powerful are now able to purchase farmers’ land without any obstacle,” the report highlights.

Saying that the government has criminalised its farmers by bringing the Cattle Slaughter Act, the report noted that it will affect the entire rural economy and makes cow rearing undesirable for farmers. On the MSP, the report said the government allegedly ignored the report of the State Agricultural Price Commission on MSP, failing to ensure the government announced MSPs are brought into effect.

“One District One Product (ODOP), nonpromotion of traditional oil seed crops , limited announcement on sustainable agriculture and organic agriculture, lack of funds to promote millets are some of the schemes that the government implemented that push farmers into deep crisis”, read the report. The government has failed in responding quickly to save the farmers from the lurch when the prices of crops crashed.

Interestingly, the report also mentioned the government’s scheme which helped the farmers. “Government effectively continued programs like lake filling scheme, farm pond in farmers’ fields, purchase and distribution of ragijowar in PDS which have benefited the farmers' '. The government failed to resist Nandini’s capture, poor response to lumpy skin disease, and no land for the landless, adds the report.

“The government has not shown any political will, whether it is about giving title deeds to Bagair Hukum Cultivators or about allotment of land to landless families. Instead, issued orders to the coffee estate owners to illegally lease the encroached forest/government land”, added the report.