Thousands of Farmers End Protest

Farmers in the western Indian state of Maharashtra have ended their protest over loan waivers, prices and land rights after meeting state ministers.

Ministers said disputes still pending over tribal farmers’ ownership of land would be settled within six months. They also said the government would expand the loan-waiver scheme to benefit all farmers. The farmers had said the government was yet to implement the waiver it had promised them last year.

Tens of thousands of protesters, including children, women and the elderly, had converged in the state capital, Mumbai, after walking 167km from Nashik district.

It took them six days to reach Azad Maidan - a ground that is frequently used for protests and concerts - in the early hours of Monday.

The protest was led by a national farmers’ organisation affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Apart from the loan waivers, farmers said they wanted to be paid at least one-and-a-half times the cost of their crops.

The government sets prices for farming in India and procures crops from farmers to incentivise production and ensure income support.

The protesters also wanted tribal farmers, who mainly cultivate in forests, to be allowed to own land. Farmers’ leader Vijay Javandhia told BBC Marathi that “agricultural income has swiftly declined in the country”.

“Income in cotton, grains and pulses is declining day by day. That’s why the rural economy is gradually running out of money,” he said.

Sakhubai, a 65-year-old woman farmer from Nashik, said: “We need our land and this is our prime demand.