Activists said Marathwada has recorded nearly 90 per cent deficient rainfall, which means almost all farmers here have incurred losses
After receiving good rain initially, many farmers carried out sowing and spent on fertilizers, not knowing that their investment would go in vain due to rain deficit in following months. ” While govt has floated the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar farm loan waiver scheme in the state with certain criteria, Shetti on Friday said govt should ease some of these stipulations and extend relief to farmers who have now suffered losses due to deficit rainfall. Jayaji Suryavanshi, a farmers’ activist from Marathwada, which is estimated to be the worst-affected region in the state, said, “The region has recorded nearly 90 per cent deficient rainfall, which means almost all farmers here have incurred losses.
Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana founder Raju Shetti said, “Back when experts warned of the El Niño effect, govt should have taken a proactive approach of sending advisories to farmers to cut down on expenditure. Activists claimed that despite warnings by climate experts about the El Niño effect on this year’s monsoon, govt did not take enough efforts to reach out to farmers to create awareness about investing in the activity. They claimed that by the time govt started issuing advisories, farmers had already made monetary investments for this year’s kharif season. However, govt kept on sending advisories only related to weather forecasts. Govt should not waste time in carrying out surveys, but instead start providing relief to farmers to ensure that they sustain till next year.”