Plight of farmers

According to Newspaper reports, there is a bumper crop of Tomatoes in Karnataka and farmers are forced to sell it at throw away prices ranging from 60 paisa to 1 rupee per KG. While the hardworking farmers get pittance, the wholesalers, retailers and traders make exorbitant profit.  It is a pity that people who toil for days and months together to feed their unknown brethren at other parts of the country are not only rewarded but also cheated, deceived, hounded and harassed. People who virtually do not do any hard work become affluent at the cost of these poor farmers. Waiver of loans and giving compensation after committing suicide are not the panacea for the problem.  The authorities should ensure that these deprived farmers should get remunerative price for their products. Unfortunately, no political party is concerned about the plight of these unlucky farmers as they do not constitute big vote banks. It is high time a co operative movement is started and farmers sell their products through their own societies eliminating the greedy middlemen. Operation flood originated by legendary Verghese Kurien in Gujarat was a great success and we should do something similar to that to ameliorate the predicament of these hapless farmers.  At a time when land holding has become very small and agriculture has become unremunerative especially in states like Kerala, people should consolidate their holdings and start co operative farming. A civilized society cannot become a silent spectator of looting of the suppressed, oppressed and depressed class of society by a small section of shylocks