Sullia: With elections to the state assembly fast approaching, political parties are busy devising strategies to win the battle. To facilitate victory, each political outfit is busy preparing its manifesto to please diverse sections of the society based on caste, region and several other parametres. The manifesto includes the programmes and policies they plan to implement, in case they come to power! The entire process involves discussion with various stakeholders in advance, to feel their pulse and ultimately frame a manifesto that is mutually beneficial. Through the entire exercise, each political party aims to woo large sections of electorate, irrespective of their political affiliations.
Today farming community in the state and country at large faces new challenges than ever before. Death of farmers in different states owing to loans and vagaries of nature is a major concern. In Karnataka alone , some estimates suggest that more than 2000 farmers died in the last five years, with most deaths attributed to non-repayment of loans from banks, cooperatives and private financiers. Severity of drought, untimely rains, falling prices for the produce and several other problems are faced by today’s farmers.
To make their voices heard, farmers in Sullia have created a Facebook group titled “Agriculturist.” The group which came into existence seven years ago has a following of over 2.8 Lakh, with all the members linked to farming community. With state elections due, the group has gone one step forward to collect information from members of the group, in an effort for inclusion in the manifestos of political parties. After collecting over 1000 valuable suggestions, the group narrowed them to 19 points. Those 19 demands have already been conveyed to major political parties to take note and include them, before the ball starts rolling.
The demands of knowledgeable farmers include, uninterrupted power (24/7) for agricultural pump sets,pre-determined market prices for agricultural produce, marketing infrastructure for selling produce, support prices when market prices drop and inclusion of all agricultural related documentation in a single format/certificate.
Emphasis on inclusion of state-of-the-art machinery for agricultural production, support for agricultural research, financial support for agricultural development, measures to reduce the role of middlemen are listed in their demands.
Measures to inspire educated youth to return to agriculture, providing technical know-how to farming community to keep abreast with modern technology in the field of agriculture, recruitment of competent graduates at village level to educate farmers to increase output are among the youth-centric demands in the list for inclusion in the manifesto.
In addition to the above, laws for compulsory water harvesting, building large warehouses at taluk level for trading agricultural produce,value addition for rural produce with financial backup for marketing and promotion of animal husbandry and products associated, find place in the list of demands.
The FB group administered by Ramesh Delampady and Mahesh Pucchapady has members from farming community and those directly linked to the field of agriculture. It is an interactive platform for over 2.8 lakh members, where more than 5000 posts appear monthly on the pagewall. Organising programmes to benefit farmers, information exchange, discussion on problems faced by the community, technical guidance by experts, sale of cattle and use of solar power are among the topics discussed widely by the group.
“With elections round the corner, demands of farmers have been placed for evaluation by political parties, for their inclusion in the manifesto. The group wishes parties to take note of the demands on priority for inclusion. The group is ready to suggest ways and measures to formulate agricultural policies as and when the new government takes over”, said Ramesh Delampady, Agriculturist Group Admin.
“The governments in power have been waiving loans and providing few benefits to farming community. In reality, the needs of the community are varied, and those are not known to people in power. Suggestions from all active members to arrive at a concise account for political parties to act upon is being made, said Mahesh Pucchapady , another Agriculturist FB admin member.
