Exodus of farm hands hits Rajasthan farmers hard

By Archana Sharma

Jaipur, March 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) After locust attack and hailstorm, Rajasthan farmers are facing a new set of problems: untimely rain and exodus of migrant farm workers to their native states amid the croronavirus scare and the lockdown.

Around 75 per cent crops were destroyed and whatever could be harvested and were waiting to be transported to mandis, also got damaged due to rain in the past few days, Rajeev Dixit, a Bharatiya Kisaan Sangh spokesperson, told IANS.

"Although the central government on Friday announced fresh guidelines, exempting additional categories related to agriculture, they have come a little late as the 75 per cent of standing as well as harvested crops have got damaged," Dixit said.

The central government has exempted farm workers, farming operations, agencies working for procurement of agriculture produce and inter and intra-state movement of crop, and sowing machines from the lockdown.

Though the Ashok Gehlot government has urged farm owners and tillers to submit their assessment of damages and claims online, the farmers seem to have lost trust in the state government as it failed to implement the loan waiver promised to them.

Chogalal, a farmer, in Begas village of Jaipur district, said the March rain damaged the harvested as well as standing crops. And whatever was left couldn't be harvested as labourers had started returning to their native places, he added.

Farmers have submitted their complaints online, have informed tehsildars of the damages so that insurance companies could be informed. But in the present situation all depends upon the state officials when they will have time from fighting Covid-19 to pay attention to farmers' woes.

"Wheat crop has been damaged to a large extent. We are not getting proper prices in mandis. The government must conduct immediate survey and compensate us for the losses," Chogalal said and added, MNREGA workers could be roped in for harvesting and transporting the crop.

He said even mustard was not fetching the minimum support price (MSP). "We have no money to pay the electricity bills. We request the state government to give subsidise it as the BJP government did," he said.

Pradeep Chaturvedi, who had contracted out his mustard fields, 70 km from Jaipur, said, "A few days before the lockdown, I received decent price for my share of the crop at the mandi. The farmer who cultivated the field kept the crop standing. But the rain damaged it badly. Now what will he do. I felt helpless when he called to say about the damage."

Said Mamta Bhupesh, Woman and Child Development Minister: "Farmers are worried these days. I have been getting frequent calls from my constituency. I have been trying to assure them that the government is working to resolve their problems."

Source: IANS