'Govt's bungling pushed cane farmers into crisis'

Bangalore, Apr 9 (UNI) National Sugarcane Farmers Union Convener K Prabhakar Reddy today held the ''lopsided policies'' of the Union and various State Governments responsible for the crisis in sugarcane farming.

Speaking to reporters here, he said sugarcane farmers were earlier economically most stable among the farming class, but in the recent years they were facing a crisis due to the ''fuss'' created by the elected Governments.

Sugarcane farmers committing suicide due to mounting debts was something unheard of before, but the country was now witnessing hundreds of farmers choosing to end their lives. The elected representatives should be held responsible for their state of despair, Mr Reddy alleged.

''Last year, the Union Government banned export of sugar when the world market was most conducive for exports. This year it has been lifted when the price is not remunerative. Similarly, the State Governments have failed to draft farmer-friendly policies,'' he said.

Mr Reddy claimed that the country, which had achieved food surplus through green revolution, was back to the pre-independence status.

Demanding that a separate budget be drafted for the farm sector both at the Centre and State level on the lines of Railway budget, he called upon the farmers of Karnataka to demand the politicians to come out with separate manifesto for farmers and reject those who failed to chart farmer-friendly policies.

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