Even as we struggle with the rightful complaint of the rice farmers that the Rice Tariffication Act (RTA) has beggared them, there is a quick but enduring fix which somehow has been glossed over in the menu of interventions.
Even as we struggle with the rightful complaint of the rice farmers that the Rice Tariffication Act (RTA) has beggared them, there is a quick but enduring fix which somehow has been glossed over in the menu of interventions.
To make up for their loss of income, the RTA provided for free farm equipment, inbred seeds, subsidized credit and intensified farmers training and extension support.
Free seeds and farm equipment for land preparation and harvest bring immediate relief but these interventions are temporary, and costly to government. More enduring and with minimal recurring cost to government (and to the farmers themselves) is the provision of irrigation, in particular small irrigation units like small pond reservoirs, small diversion dams, shallow tube wells and, lately, solar-powered water pumps.
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