MAPUSA
Stating that the pandemic and the excessive rain has put the farming community in great difficulty, Siolim Congress Block President Rajan Ghate has said it was unfair to charge fees for a harvester machine and appealed to the government to refund the monies to the farmers.
He also said that from next year, the harvester machine should be provided free of cost to the farmers to promote agriculture in the State.
“The Covid-19 crisis along with the prolonged rains especially during the harvesting time has had an adverse impact on the farmers. The fees collected for the harvester machine should be refunded back to the farmers,” Ghate said.
In a letter to the Agriculture Minister Chandrakant (Babu) Kavlekar, the Congressman from Siolim said charging fees for a harvester machine when farmers were going through a difficult time was unfair.
He said several farmers from Siolim had approached him with complaints regarding excessive rates fixed by the government for a harvesting machine.
“Cultivation of paddy is an immense task and involves a huge amount of funds. With the rate of Rs 2,000 per hour fixed for a harvester machine, the farming business will be a costly affair and drive away locals from agriculture,” he said.
He further said that both the State and Central governments were not disbursing any subsidies to support the farmer during the difficult phase.
“Many farmers are yet to get subsidies for last year. Charging harvesting fees is unacceptable and the government should immediately do a rethink and refund the money back to the farmers,” Ghate said.
“From next year, the government should provide harvester machines to farmers free of cost to promote agriculture in the State,” he added.
