Repaying loans a major challenge for farmers

Deepender Deswal

THE months of March, April and May are the busiest for the farmers as they harvest the rabi crops, mainly wheat and mustard, and start sowing kharif crops such as paddy and cotton. With a good rabi season due to an extended winter, the farmers of Haryana were expecting that a bumper yield would help them get over past losses.

However, the lockdown imposed by the government in view of the coronavirus outbreak has come as a bolt from the blue for the farmers. The farmers are facing shortage of machinery and manpower for harvesting. The upcoming procurement will also be a tough job this time due to the labour shortage. Already in a tight spot, the farmers are being slapped with penalty for defaulting on the repayment of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans.

Agriculture experts say grain procurement will not be smooth this season. As the authorities are engaged in handling the pandemic and migrant labourers have gone back home due to the lockdown, the farmers will face problems in selling their produce.

Farmers complain that combines and other machinery are not available for harvesting mustard and wheat crops. Raman, a farmer from Kirtan village in Hisar district, says the combines usually arrive from Punjab during this season, but that is not the case this time due to the lockdown. “Though our family members are engaged in harvesting in the absence of the machines, it will delay the process as the work is being done manually,” he adds.

The economic slowdown will also have a cascading effect on the farming community. The adverse impact is already visible as the poultry industry and vegetable growers are facing financial losses. Dr Ramkumar, an agriculture economist, says the poultry industry has suffered a massive setback due to Covid-19 as consumers have shunned the products to a great extent and the supply of feed to the farms has been disrupted.

Some poultry farm owners even dumped chickens in the open at a secluded place in a village in Hisar. Vegetable growers say they have to resort to distress sale of their produce in the market. Subhash, a vegetable grower in adjoining Shikarpur village, says the wholesalers/arhtiyas in the vegetable market have slashed the wholesale prices being offered to the farmers. For example, the farmers are being offered Rs 5-7 per kg for cabbage and the prices of peas have fallen to Rs 12-15 per kg from Rs 30 (before the lockdown).

To make matters worse, the farmers who have taken loans under the KCC scheme have got no relief and the banks are imposing penalty for non-repayment of the short-term agricultural loan. A farmer from Surpura village in Bhiwani district, Sheo Narayan, who has taken a loan of Rs 5 lakh with the repayment deadline of March 31, says he received a message from the bank about imposing a penalty of Rs 5,716 for not repaying the loan. “In view of the lockdown, it’s not possible to visit the bank branch at Bahal town to repay the loan. Moreover, I don’t have money as I am unable to sell my mustard crop,” he adds.

Dr Ramkumar says the procurement will be hit as the migrant labourers who are hired for tasks such as loading, unloading and lifting of grain in the mandis have returned to their home states. “The procurement is expected to be an uphill task this time in the absence of the labour in the mandis,” he says, adding that the procurement of mustard is likely to start on April 15 while wheat purchase will begin on April 20.

District food and supplies controller Subhash Sihag says the department is preparing for the procurement season and waiting for directions from the state government. “We will ensure smooth procurement despite the labour shortage,” he adds.

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