Banks hesitate in lending to farmers in Uttar Pradesh; fertilizers and seeds in short supply

Farmers in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh know at least one person they can count on in times of doubt or crisis. Manoj Kumar, 30, has been working with farmers for eight years, travelling to villages, discussing their problems, advising them on matters of farming and finance. These days he is getting lots of calls from farmers in distress. The wheat-sowing season is at hand but farmers are finding it tough to get cash, fertilizers and seeds.

Seven farmers killed themselves in Mahoba in October, and some of them were among those whose debts were waived by the centre, said Kumar, coordinator of the Mahoba chapter of Bun- delkhand Aapda Nivarak Manch, an association of ngo s, farmer groups and civil society organizations. Parmanad Khushwaha, 45, burnt himself at night.He was unable to get a loan from either banks or moneylenders, so he could not buy fertilizer and seeds for his three- hectare (ha) farm in Srinagar village. Narendra Kumar, 40, owned 2 ha in Chandauli village and was regularly repaying loans, but this year he got no money to buy fertilizer. He consumed pesticide. So did Munna Lal Richaria, 55, of Panwari block and Pyare Lal, 45, of Mahoba block. Some of these cases were reported in the media, though Mahoba