Describing the State budget as “urban-centric”, the State Sugarcane Growers’ Association on Monday said the budget has ignored farmers.
“No concrete step has been announced in the budget for developing the farm sector. It’s a budget with a clear focus on cities, neglecting the issues raised by farmers” said Association President Kurubur Shanthkumar.
He said Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has not set aside corpus for purchasing the farmers’ produce at minimum support price. The allocation was essential since the government cannot always depend on the Centre whenever the prices crash and the produce had to be bought immediately at the MSP, he explained.
He expressed dissatisfaction over the sum earmarked for giving loans against pledged assets to farmers. “In my view, the Chief Minister should have allocated ₹1 crore each in every APMC limit to facilitate farmers get the loans. For 175 APMCs, the sum set aside is just ₹5 crore,” he said.
He opined that the Mekedatu project and Bhadra project announced should not remain only on paper and said the government should implement the projects to support farmers of those regions.
The association said the budget did not support rejuvenation of sugar mills in Mandya and Mysuru districts.
