In a statement issued here after the Union Cabinet’s approval of the Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) for farmers, Captain Amarinder Singh the central government should move forward to waive off the loans of at least the small farmers, who were resorting to extreme measures to escape their mounting debts

In a statement issued here after the Union Cabinet’s approval of the Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) for farmers, Captain Amarinder Singh the central government should move forward to waive off the loans of at least the small farmers, who were resorting to extreme measures to escape their mounting debts.

The situation is critical, Captain Amarinder pointed out, adding that the entire nation was in the grip of a humanitarian crisis as a result of the unrest among the farming community, which had taken to the streets in many states to bring the government’s attention to their plight. Caught in a vicious cycle of debt, farmers around the country, including in Punjab, were even resorting to suicide, the Chief Minister lamented, adding that, given the nationwide repercussions, the situation merited urgent intervention by the Centre.

The entire farming community across states was in the grip of a serious financial crisis as a result of their debt cycles, coupled with low MSP for their produce, the Chief Minister said.  The farmers, who feed the nation, are unable to meet both ends meet for their families and need government support to wade them through the crisis, he stressed.

The Chief Minister reiterated his demand for immediate implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report to fix the MSP to ensure remunerative prices for their produce, saying the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission were the only real solution to the problem in the long run.

While reiterating his government’s commitment to waive off farm loans in Punjab, as promised by his party in the poll manifesto, Captain Amarinder said knee-jerk reactions by individual states, most of which were struggling to cope with the agrarian crisis, could not lead to a permanent resolution of the problem.

The central government needs to take a holistic view of the problem from a national perspective and intervene immediately to bring the farming community back from the brink of disaster on the path of development and progress, the Chief Minister said.