For the farmers in Manka village in Maharashtra’s Buldhana district getting drinking water and easier credit facilities for farming are the most immediate needs.

Buldhana, part of the Vidarbha region that has been reeling under drought for three consecutive years, is seeing the crisis deepen further this year. Groundwater has dried up and weather forecasts on approaching monsoon are not very encouraging and the farmers are hoping the re-elected government has this on its priority list.

Although the state has a drought mitigation strategy in place, most farmers in Buldhana say it has fallen short on many accounts, the biggest being in providing easy and fresh credit for farming.

"It is already the third week of June and we haven’t even started preparing for sowing. There is no water and there is no money to buy seeds, fertilisers etc,” said Ashoka Trimbak Shirsagar, who farms cotton and pulses on eight acres of land in Manka village.

Farmers in the region are still dependent on private moneylenders despite a loan waiver scheme and a drought mitigation plan that offers fresh credit to farmers in drought-hit regions. Maharashtra Bank’s notice to avoid crop loans for defaulting farmers further skewed the problem in the month of May.

"None of our loans have been restructured, not getting crop loans from the bank for the last two years. I will borrow from private moneylenders to sow in the next 10 days,” said Suresh Ramdev, a small farmer with three acres of land.

The farmers in Buldhana are hoping that the new government also reworks its procurement policies in favour of the farmer, "We have voted the Narendra Modi government back to power with a hope that he improves the lives of farmers. But the government doesn't procure enough produce from farmers. Even if the government opens newer types of markets, till the time private traders are buying all our produce, we will not have certainty of getting good rates."

Shyam Atvale, a farmer leader with Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathan in the region said, "Can the government make it mandatory for traders to not procure crops below the Minimum Support Price (MSP), or else their licence will be cancelled? We hope the government announces something on this budget."

First Published:Jun 21, 2019 8:51 PM IST