‘Farming no longer feasible’: Erode farmers flag crisis ahead of TN polls

Farmers in the Erode district of Tamil Nadu are becoming increasingly concerned about a worsening agrarian crisis that they claim has made farming more and more unfeasible as the state's assembly elections approach.

Many farmers are experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the squeeze on farm incomes caused by growing input costs, severe labour shortages, and worsening water scarcity.

Growers of sugarcane are among the most severely impacted. Farmers claim that after deducting cutting and transportation costs, their actual earnings are drastically lowered, leaving them with significantly less than the declared rate, even as mills announce procurement prices.

According to a, sugarcane farmer named Appusamy: "They propose the price and procure it. If the factories take it for Rs 4000, the local jaggery makers take it for Rs 3000 only. If they increase the procuring price of sugarcane to Rs 5000, it will be helpful."

Farmers also point to a sharp rise in labour costs, driven by the steady migration of workers to urban areas in search of better-paying jobs, leaving farms struggling to find manpower.

Meanwhile, M Ramasamy, another Sugarcane farmer, says, “It is difficult to be in agriculture as the labour cost is more than the profits. The government should increase the procurement price. Also, there is human resource shortage as people are moving towards urban centres for jobs, there is no one here for agri work.’’

Adding to the pressure is worsening water scarcity. Erratic rainfall patterns and declining groundwater levels have disrupted irrigation across several blocks, reducing yields and forcing farmers to cut back on cultivation.

Many are demanding improved storage and direct irrigation supply from the Cauver River to agricultural fields.

Banana growers in the region say the absence of cold storage facilities leaves them vulnerable to distress sales whenever market prices fall sharply.

Sadasivam, a banana farmer, says, "There is water shortage during summer. We want water from Cauvery, to be stored and sent through pipelines and it should be supplied to our fields. We want the government to pay our insurance premium. Our profits are not enough to pay the insurance premium. There are labour issues as well."

Farmers in Erode say these long-pending issues will play a decisive role in shaping their voting choices in the upcoming elections.

Higher minimum support prices, full crop insurance coverage, direct input subsidies, increased irrigation infrastructure, and tangible steps to alleviate the growing labour shortage in agriculture are among the things they are demanding.