Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Banks Loan Recovery Operations in Vidarbha

While the IAS bureaucrats in charge of Relief operations in Vidarbha, like Shri Sudhir Kumar Goyal, are vigourously denying, forcible recovery of loans, from indebted and defaulting cotton farmers in Vidarbha, by banks and private money lenders, Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti alleges that most of the farmers were the victims of ongoing loan recovery drive of the banks.
The much hyped Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh's Vidarbha Relief package, had promised the farmers would get at least one year moratorium on recovery of loans.

However, it seems the Loan Recovery Operations picture on the ground is starkly different. Shri Goyal has already stated that "no government on earth can subsidize 60% of the farmers".
All bank managers have loan recovery targets, and are busy forcefully recovering outstanding amounts from farmers using new techniques and methods.
It now seems the banks have decided to collude with state-run Cotton Marketing Cooperative Federation, the main cotton procurer in Vidarbha, during selling of raw cotton.
Moreover, banks have also launched their loan recovery drive knowing that the Vidarbha cotton farmers are drinking water from a leaking cup.
In the face of this double bind of seeing the daily dance of death in his districts, between helpless farmers and Congress politicians, the Relief Commissioner has donned the cap of a philosopher, and is busy advocating to the media, that the high cost of agro-inputs and meagre price of raw cotton produce, is to blaim for the misery of suicidal farmers.
How long this situation will last, and a new Relief Commissioner takes charge from him, remains to be seen.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Bureaucrats Shed Crocodile Tears in Vidarbha

The recent interview given by Shri Sudhir Kumar Goyal, Divisional Commissioner, Incharge Relief, Amravati, Maharashtra, shows that politicians are pressing the bureaucrats into action for fire fighting in Vidarbha.
Shri Goyal has tried to shed a few tears, for suicidal cotton farmers, of Vidarbha, and rattled off figures of how much interest waivure, has been provided to the farmers on their loans. He says no government in the world can subsidize 60% farmers. He however, is pointedly silent on why these loans were advanced to farmers in the first place if cultivating cotton in Vidarbha is such a risky proposition. Did the ministers, government departments and senior responsible officers,not know that cultivating resource intensive cotton in Vidarbha is a risky proposition ?
I wish to point out some of the cotton export figures of India for the period January 2006 - September 2006 to show how Shri Goyal is trying to deflect attention from governmental dishonesty.
US Imports from India : Rise in percentage from previous year in same period -
1. Textiles and Apparel : 16.75% rise
2. Yarns : 136.96% rise
3. Fabrics : 27.36% rise
4. MadeUps : 8.53% rise
5. Apparel : 11.32% rise
6. Cotton Yarn : 209.66%
7. Cotton Fabrics : 22.11% rise
8. Blue Denim : 351% rise
9. Knit Fabrics : 150% rise
10. Cotton Hosiery : 358% rise
11. Cotton Bed Linen : 25.15% rise
12. Terry Towels : 47% rise
13. Cotton Apparel : 17.30% rise


Category Jan/Sep 2005 Jan/Sep 2006 %change % share in World Total for Jan/Sep 2006
World 300 364.656 336.993 -7.59 100.00
301 452.106 480.383 6.25 100.00
Total 816.762 817.376 0.08 100.00

India 300 5.301 8.828 66.53 2.62
301 15.628 62.520 300.06 13.01
Total 20.929 71.348 240.90 8.73

China 300 1.703 8.926 424.16 2.65
301 16.703 5.164 -69.08 1.07
Total 18.406 14.090 -23.45 1.72

Pakistan 300 157.856 166.951 5.76 49.54
301 131.361 145.280 10.60 30.24
Total 289.217 312.231 7.96 38.20
300 – Carded cotton yarn; 301 -- Combed cotton yarn
Conversion factor: 8.5 SME = 1 Kg.

The TEXPROCIL informs us "It is remarkable that Indian imports have grown from 5.301 MSME to 8.828 MSME. This performance is all the more commendable because in a falling market, India has shown a growth and that too when in the corresponding period of the previous year, the performance was meagre.."
"..The growth in case of India for Combed cotton yarn (Category 301) is tremendous rising from 15.628 MSME to 62.520 MSME. Looked at differently, the growth in imports of this product from all sources has been to the extent of 28.277 MSME of which the maximum has been on account of imports from India alone. Compared to this, imports from China have declined by 69%.."

Does Shri Goyal think that Indian cotton farmers are so foolish, as to accept his prescriptions regarding the reasons for their suicides ? How can he even think of insulting the cotton farmers of Vidarbha like this, in the face of the strong surge in Indian cotton exports ? Maybe with such intellectually dishonest bureaucrats, to look after them, the Vidarbha cotton farmers are better off having no hope rather than listen to such patently absurd agricultural prescriptions.

Incredible India. The only country where bureaucrats in the garb of Relief Commissioners have the job of giving sugar coated pills to farmers, instead of bitter medicine.

If Indian cotton exports, are doing so well in US markets, even against suppliers like China and Pakistan, why are the cotton growers of Vidarbha only only facing the prospects of suicides and sugar coated pills from senior bureaucrats shedding crocodile tears ?
Check out the cotton export figures for yourself and ask Shri Goyal what new story he wants to tell Vidarbha farmers ? - http://www.texprocil.com/monthly/usaqty_sep06.doc

Shri Goyal claims that the cotton farmer has become a bonded labourer on his own farm who cannot afford to even pay wages. The real answer he does not provide is whose bonded labourer is the Vidarbha cotton farmer ? Who is benefitting from the bondage of the Vidarbha farmer ?

But then maybe, Shri Goyal is after all, fire fighting on somebody else's behalf, and is just trying to concoct excuses and stories for his political masters. After all, everyone has to earn a living.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Is India Subsidizing Bharat ?

The recent interview of Shri Sudhir Kumar Goyal, Divisional Commissioner Amaravati, in charge of Relief, and ex Agriculture commissioner of Maharashtra, who was shunted out for advocating low cost agricultural practices raises some very interesting questions.
The first question is why is he raising this issue of low cost agricultural practices, now at this stage of the Vidarbha farmers suicides saga. Considering that he has been an integral part of Maharashtra agriculture stratgey, and indeed a central player, this realization of his, comes at a very opportune moment.
... jab chidiya chug gayee khet ...
It seems Shri Goyal wants to shed a few tears for suicidal farmers.
He says ...." My heart goes out for those who ended their lives, out of acute frustration, and for their bereaved families, even as I am worried about those caught in the web of a flawed system."

Senior bureaucrats are not happy trying to pick up the mess created by political decisions of politicians and ministers. However, Shri Goyal does seem to think that he has a message for the farmers.
The irony is that he is confusing political decisions with bureaucratic good intentions, and not clarifying why he is feeling sorry for suicidal farmers at this stage.
One Shri Goyal is not going to stop the spate of farmer suicides.
Shri Goyal is not mentioning the fact, that the decision to push cotton farming in the water scarce regions, was a political decision taken by his political masters rather than by him. He was merely in charge of implementation.
It is not often that a senior bureaucrat goes on record, to make statements that are actually an attempt to pick up the pieces, of decisions taken by political leaders. That the issue is much more serious than the ambit of a Divisional Commissioner is not in doubt. But that political leaders are using bureaucrats to make statements on the political decisions concerning agriculture, makes this statement of Shri Goyal the first of its kind.
The question is who should we believe, Shri Goyal or the political masters of Shri Goyal. Who is really responsible for the mess in Vidarbha ? Who is really responsible for cost intensive farming in unirrigated areas, ministers, bureaucrats, agriculture extension colleges, private companies, moneylenders, banks or the farmers themselves.
Why did the government banks advance loans, if they knew as Shri Goyal, in all his wisdom now knows, that cost intensive farming in non irrigated areas is a high risk proposition ?
And then, are the farmers in the irrigated areas, doing cost intensive cultivation becoming the crorepatis and doing better ?
Maybe the Divisional Commissioners of Punjab, the IAS brothers of Shri Goyal, will tell us yet another twist of this story of agrarian failures in India and the collapse of Green Revolution.

No government on earth can subsidize 60% Farmers

Dr Sudhir Kumar Goyal, Divisional Commissioner, Relief, Amravati, in an interview, has said that immediate relief had been given to farmers where interest worth Rs 782 cores had been waived off. But the entire loan cannot be waived. "Subsidies are given. But no government on earth can give subsidy to 60% of its farmers."

The Vidarbha farmers have been given fresh loans, which Dr Goel said was three times more than in the past.

This is called "singing a tune as per the ears of the listener". This is a sure indication that Congress political bigwigs are beginning to wake up to the rural crisis in Vidarbha and are being given instructions to dirty their white cotton linen kurtas and designer goggles. Politicians are now instructing bureaucrats to begin to appear reasonable and avoid the image of apathy and callous behaviour towards farmers.

After years of hiding the facts, then cautiously being forced to admit it, in the face of rising media pressure, local government officials have begun to sing a different from the tune that is being sung by the Indian Prime Minister, the Sensex Minister and the Cricket Ministers.

Let us see in which direction, the issue of Indian farm suicides heads now. Congress cannot risk an electoral rout in Vidarbha. It is now a matter of time before top Congress think tanks begin to look at the issue of agrarian suicides. And yes, they will first ask the Indian bureaucracy to shoulder the blame rather than take the blame on faulty agricultural prescriptions of last six decades which skim rural surplus for industrial subsidization.

Attempts will now be made to blame the plight of Vidarbha farmers, on faulty implementation of the Vidarbha package announced by the Prime Minister.

The real question not being asked is why, when the richest consumers on earth are shifting to wearing cotton, cotton growers in India are committing suicides.

Linen suits retail for Rs 8000, and cotton trousers are retailing in Western markets for Rs 2500.
The WTO Multi Fibre Agreement is rolled out and yet the Vidarbha cotton growers are suffering.
Should they not have been the richest farmers in the world by now ?
Is the Divisional Commissioner of Amravati not still talking on behalf of his masters and trying to sell a new story to the cotton farmers of Vidarbha ?

We will now hear many different perspectives on why farmers are committing suicides but people are still not ready to do a stock taking of the last six decades of New Delhi and Mumbai backed plunder of Indian rural areas.