Who cares about farmers? A wishlist for Nirmala Sitharaman from rural hinterlands

The plight of Indian farmer has been a subject of discussion during every Budget. Just before the general elections in 2019, the government had launched P-M-Kisan scheme providing Rs 6,000 a year to small land-owning farmers in three installments. But is this enough to ease farmers’ pain? Experts say the finance minister will have to increase spending on rural India to spur consumer demand. Whether it is through spending on social sector schemes or supporting agriculture in a time when climate change is hitting farm yields across the country, the government has to find a way.

From irrigation, better crop prices to subsidised fertilisers, farmers have put out their varied demands. Here’s the farmers’ wishlist from across the major agrarian states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.