Farm Loan Waiver Is Only a Short-term Solution

This refers to your feature on agriculture reforms ( The Farm Puzzle, July 16). Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Karnataka put together have waived farm loans worth `1,35,000 crore in recent months. These states are setting a very wrong precedent. Not long back, SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya had said that if such a waiver were done, it would disrupt the credit discipline amongst the farmers across the country, as they will also expect their loans to be waived. And they will stop paying. So, government needs to think beyond farm loan waivers, as that is only a short-term solution to the problem. Access to technology must reach small farmers also, so that agriculture remains a viable and sustainable profession. Bal Govind, Noida