* Loan waiver Virus, which may prove deadly to Economic growth spreads to Orissa as well. Loan waiver is the worst kind of help, as it gives only a temporary relief to farmers and cause maximum damage to economy.
* In fact investments are required to empower farmers
(1) provide farmers better seeds, technology, information etc increase productivity so that good quality agricultural produce in large quantity could be reaped
(2)...
more... Make arrangements for proper transportation & storage of food grains/fruits/vegetables etc at reasonable price so that losses during transit & storage are minimised. Here use of railways can be maximised to the extent possible.
(3) To facilitate farmers with marketing outlets so that they are freed from the clutches of the middleman who contribute negligible and make maximum earnings. Farmers shall automatically get the right price for their produce. There is margin of about 200%-1000% between the selling price of farmer and cost price of ultimate consumer. This is partly due to wastage and partly due to profiteering by middlemen who take undue advantage of inaccessibility of market to farmers.
-
* Loan waiver has become an essential feature of election manifesto of every political party to snatch votes of farmers. It raises a basic question, should political persons have right/power to (mis)use hard earned taxpayer's money to buy votes for self and party?
* Once a person taste the blood of loan waiver (that too given by govt), he shall start treating loan as lottery, and bureaucrats shall start demanding bigger cuts to sanction loans, and over burdened taxpayers shall be further squeezed.