‘Don’t push them to private moneylenders’: Maharashtra farmer leader writes to Fadnavis, calls for quick crop loan disbursal

Following the devastation during the kharif season, which saw widespread crop loss due to floods and heavy rainfall, many farmers are now in financial distress, Jawandhia pointed out. And with the rabi season beginning in November, farmers need loans urgently, he added. Jawandhia also pointed out that the rabi season covers a much smaller sowing area (61 lakh hectares) compared to kharif (156 lakh hectares).

Even as he welcomed Fadnavis’s decision to consider a complete loan waiver by June 2026, Jawandhia said, “What farmers need is immediate handholding.” Though the state government has announced a Rs 31,638 crore compensation package, larger fundamental issues have gone unattended, he alleged.

“In the present situation, provisions for crop loans to farmers should be a priority. Secondly, there should be strict implementation of minimum support price for the crops they produce,” Jawandhia told The Indian Express.

For small and marginal farmers, who constitute up to 78 per cent of the agricultural sector, holding on to their stock for long is not possible as they do not have large warehouses to store the produce, he explained. In such situations, he said, middlemen often exploit farmers by procuring crops at rates below MSP. The same is later sold at higher rates in the market, he added.

The government procurement policy is also flawed, Jawandhia said. “The process from registration to transportation to procurement takes a long time. It is uncertain. Therefore, farmers become easy prey for traders,” he added.

Jawandhia also mentioned how in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to give farmers 50 per cent profit on crops produced and make MSP mandatory. “But this has remained on paper. It has not been implemented anywhere,” he added.

In the present situation, Jawandhia reiterated, “The crop loss in the kharif season has wrecked farmers across Maharashtra, especially in the Vidarbha and Marathwada region. Without support from the state government, they will not be able to overcome the crisis.”

What the Maharashtra government has announced so far

Following the heavy rain and subsequent floods that led to crop loss and soil erosion, the Maharashtra government had directed that banks should not insist on loan payments from farmers immediately. The state government also announced a Rs 31,628 crore compensation package for farmers. Of this, Rs 8,000 crore has been disbursed and Rs 11,000 crore was released in the cabinet meeting earlier this week.

Amidst growing demand from farmer leaders for a complete loan waiver, Fadnavis said on Thursday, “We have set up a committee under Pravin Pardeshi. The committee will study the issue and make recommendations. Based on the report, the government will consider a loan waiver by June 2026.”