Coimbatore farmers hold protest seeking full waiver of cooperative crop loans

COIMBATORE: Yermunai Ilaingar Ani, part of Katchi Sarbatra Vivasayigal Sangam, held a protest in Sulur on Saturday urging the Tamil Nadu govt to waive all crop loans taken through cooperative societies and withdraw the chief minister’s recent crop loan waiver announcement.

The association had planned to demonstrate in front of the Sulur MLA office but shifted the protest to the Sulur bus stand after police denied permission for the earlier venue. After the protest, members submitted a petition to Sulur MLA N M Sivakumar at his office.

Yermunai Ilaingar Ani state vice-president M Suresh said farmers had been under severe financial stress in recent years due to climate change impacts, rising input costs and recurring disasters. He cited increasing expenses for seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and farm equipment, and alleged that cultivators were not receiving adequate prices for their produce.

Suresh said these pressures have forced farmers to borrow from cooperative societies, public and private banks, adding that many are facing mental distress while trying to sustain their livelihoods. He said the crop loan waiver announced recently did not align with the election-time assurance of a 100% waiver for small and micro farmers and a 50% waiver for large farmers.

He claimed the current framework would not benefit most small and micro farmers as micro farmers now commonly borrow around Rs 80,000. He pointed out borrowers in the Rs 50,000 slab are fewer than those in higher categories.

Comparing past waivers, Suresh said Rs 12,000 crore was waived in 2021, Rs 5,600 crore during the Jayalalithaa period and about Rs 6,000 crore during the Kalaignar period, while the current waiver covers about Rs 2,000 crore.