Farming Increasingly Becoming Unviable, Treat Cultivators' Issues With Greater Seriousness: Pawar

Former Union agriculture minister and NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Monday said farming is increasingly becoming an unviable profession and urged both the Centre and the Maharashtra government to treat farmers' issues with greater seriousness.

He said big industrialists often receive corporate loan restructuring and interest waivers, and farmers who dedicate their lives to agriculture also deserve similar measures.

Pawar was addressing the inaugural session of the three-day Grape Conference organised by the Maharashtra State Grape Growers' Association in Pune.

Recalling his long association with the event, the veteran politician noted he has rarely missed attending the annual gathering over the years and stressed that the growing challenges facing agriculture require urgent and collective attention.

"The central government has helped big industrialists by increasing the number of instalments and waived loans of some of them. The Centre should give equal justice to those who serve for the mother land (farmers)," he maintained.

"We are not in power, but it will remain our responsibility to continue raising farmers' concerns before the government," Pawar asserted.

The former CM advised farming families to diversify their sources of income.

It is no longer economically viable for every member of a family to depend solely on agriculture. Instead, one or two members should continue farming while others should pursue different professions or businesses to strengthen the family's financial condition, he suggested.

Pawar urged the government to take strict action against companies that cheat farmers.

He specifically called on the Centre to crack down on counterfeit pesticides and medicines used in grape cultivation, saying such products cause huge financial losses to growers and require strict measures.