Farmers' body to stage protest on Feb 13 against pro-corporate Budget

New Delhi, Feb 1 () Expressing disappointment over the budget, the India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) on Saturday said it will hold a nation-wide protest on February 13 against the pro-corporate proposals and failure to address the problems of the farming community.

The AIKSCC, which is a nationwide platform of more than 200 farmer organisations across the country, said the budget 2020 offers no boost to the rural sector.

"We are very disappointed. This is clearly a Budget that has no space for farmers of this country. The Modi government is yet again communicating to farmers that it is the companies and not the farmers who matter to this government," AIKSCC said in a statement.

There should have been measures for relief from debts, for compensation for crop loss, protection from stray animals and crop insurance. But these have not been touched, it said.

AIKSCC has called for a nation-wide protest on February 13 against the pro-corporate proposals in the budget, failure to address the problems of rising peasant debts and secure remunerative prices from sale of crops, it added.

According to the farmers body, total budget allocation for agriculture, irrigation and rural development was Rs 2.68 lakh crore in the 2019-20 fiscal, which has been nominally increased to Rs 2.83 lakh crore. In real terms, taking inflation into account, this amounts to zero increase.

On raising the farm credit target to Rs 15 lakh crore for next fiscal, AIKSCC said much of this credit will go to big agri-businesses, promote sale of costly inputs and machinery of the companies. There is no support to peasants or measure to prevent their land from being mortgaged.

No structural changes were announced to ensure that the credit goes to small and marginal farmers, tenant farmers and adivasi farmers, who are left out of institutional financing, pushing them to indebtedness and suicides, it said. LUX ANS ANS