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Drought affected farmers’ loan repayments to be deferred
Loans totaling Rs. 10,000 million, obtained from State banks and institutions by farmers, are to be deferred to provide relief to those affected by the drought, Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, told the Sunday Times.
At Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting presided over by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, it was decided to suspend the recovery of cultivation loans and loans obtained by pawning of jewellery or property by farmers for cultivation in the drought affected areas including Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura.
A different kind of scarecrow: A poster stands in the middle of a dried up paddyfield in Polonnaruwa, demanding compensation. Pic by K. G. Karunaratne
“The farmers from the drought-affected areas have been subjected to many hardships, so we have decided to give them relief from the loans they have received, until the harvesting of the Maha season in 2013,” Mr. Amaraweera said.
Directives to this effect have been sent by the Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Planning, to the Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, National Savings Bank, Regional Development Bank and the Rural Cooperative Development Bank.
The drought caused by the failure of two monsoons has affected farmers in many parts of the island.
However, Polonnaruwa farmers claim that it was not the drought, but the ‘mismanagement’ of the distribution of water that affected their crops.
Farmers Union Convener and Peasant Progressive Union President M.K. Jayatissa speaking on behalf of the North Central Province farmers, said that the drought wouldn’t have affected the farmers, if the water from tanks and reservoirs were not utilised for hydropower.
“The government tells the public that farmers in our area are affected by the drought, which is not so. We had water required for cultivation in the Mahaweli River, Parakrama Samudra, Minneriya Tank and the Elehera Canal. The water of these tanks were used by the Power and Energy Minister to produce electricity, whereby the water was released well ahead of the cultivation season,” said Jayatissa.
“The Government didn’t pay sufficient attention to the farmers and hence, they have had to face many hardships. Therefore, we are going to stage a protest today,” he added. The protest will be held at Hingurakgoda.
The farmers are demanding that the Government pay Rs. 50 a kilo of paddy, which is now sold at only Rs. 22-23, to give them a pension, to stop seaplanes landing on reservoirs and tanks, to find a permanent solution to the kidney disease prevalent in the north-central province.
“The government must sort out the problems faced by farmers in this country. It has become difficult for an average farmer to spend on cultivation and pay for other requirements. There are many farmers who have left their cultivations and started working as hired labourers for a livelihood. This is a very sad situation, and the Government is responsible for this. We demand immediate solutions to our problems,” he concluded.
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