Newly-elected MLA for Melkote Darshan Puttanaiah on Friday told the officials of the Department of Agriculture to guide farmers in cultivating climate-resilient crops that help them deal with the losses they incur over their crops getting destroyed by either deficit or excessive rains.
Climate change has resulted in extreme weather conditions with farmers suffering losses to deficit or excessive rains. With timely guidance, the department can guide farmers on the kind of crop cultivation for minimising losses, he said.
At the farmers’ grievances meeting held in Mandya, Mr. Puttanaiah said suitable prices for sugarcane will be sought and the department must ensure there were no lapses in the distribution of fertilizers, saplings of coconut and areca in the district.
The issues which were discussed in the farmers’ grievances meeting will be taken up for discussion in the next Assembly session for the benefit of farmers in general and Mandya district in particular.
Loan dues
On the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Kumara said that loan dues should not be deducted from the money credited into the bank accounts of farmers under social security pensions or financial assistance from various schemes.
With regard to the education loans for farmers’ children, the banks were taking into consideration the crop loans while assessing the score (Cibil) of farmers for disbursing the loans. This has caused difficulty in getting loans from banks for other reasons, including the loans for their children’s education, farmers told the meeting.
Responding to this, the Deputy Commissioner said the matter will be discussed in the DLBC meeting and a proposal in this regard will be sent to the State government.
Farmer leaders suggested making the markets middlemen-free and that the government directly buy produce from the farmers. “We will send this proposal to the government,” he promised.
He said sugar factories must pay farmers for supplying sugarcane within the prescribed time. In case of a change in price, the difference amount can be paid to them, he said.
While clarifying that there is no shortage of technical staff at the MySugar factory, he said the turbine was supposed to have been delivered to the factory on July 26. But the suppliers have been told to deliver the turbine by July 31.
