Ludhiana: In a bid to give relief to the farmers of Punjab, Dr T. Haque, Head, Expert Group on Farm Loan Waiver, Punjab, visited Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) today and discussed issues of the farmers.

Ludhiana: In a bid to give relief to the farmers of Punjab, Dr T. Haque, Head, Expert Group on Farm Loan Waiver, Punjab, visited Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) today and discussed  issues of the farmers. Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, and a member of the Expert Group on Farm Loan Waiver, also interacted with the participating members of PAU Kisan Club. In all, more than 30 members of the club shared their experiences and apprised experts of their problems.

The members expressed concern over rising farm suicides and said many farmers were reeling under debt. A farmer stated, “There is a need to study why Punjab farmer is under debt. Even if the loan is waived off once, again the same story is repeated next year.” The members were of the view that loan waiver can give relief to some extent but the problem of farm suicide calls for a permanent solution. The members stressed on taking urgent measures to tackle this problem and said farmers must be assured that they won’t face any trouble in future.

The members also deliberated on farm policies and suggested promoting use of bio-fertilizers, stopping burning of straw, maintaining health of land and soil, and forming farmers’ groups to create more awareness about vital issues and farm innovations.

Dr T. Haque said, “There is a need to evaluate and study the reasons leading to farm suicides in the present scenario.”

 At the deliberations, Dr B.S. Sidhu, Agriculture Commissioner, Punjab; Dr J.S. Bains, Director of Agriculture, Punjab; Dr R.S. Sidhu, Registrar, PAU; Dr Navtej Bains, Director of Research, PAU; and Dr Ashok Kumar, Director of Extension Education, PAU, were also present.