Re: Farm Policy

[Ari Sitaramayya <ari@Oakland.edu>]

On Sat, 30 May 1998, Premkumar S. Rallabandi wrote:

> 
> Sitaramayya, what more do you think needs to be done at the policy-making
> level?
> 
> Prem.

As I said, this is a problem, a serious one, for which different people
are trying to find answers. So am I. Unfortunately, so far all I have seen
is frustration and no real solutions. 

For those of you who asked me questions about relief efforts, the govt of
AP promised 200,000 rupees each for families of suicide cases. There have
been reports that some farmers have actually committed suicide with the
hope that their families will get this money. There were also reports that
the families were actually getting much less (10,000-50,000) than publicly
announced. 

My thanks to all those who made comments.

To those who are writing the manifesto, I would suggest that agriculture
departments in state universities should be responsible for addressing the
real problems of farmers in their areas. 

Sitaramayya Ari.