The Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Protection Movement will organise a rally in Chennai on July 7 with the support of like-minded farmers’ associations demanding waiver of crop loans by the TVK government in accordance with its poll promise.

Easan Murugasamy, founder of the Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Protection Movement, said farmers do not have the capacity to repay loans due to the unfavourable eco-system for which both the Central and State governments are responsible.

While encouraging farmers to produce 150 types of food crops, the authorities have been deceiving farmers by not fixing the procurement prices. The centre fixes prices for 21 commodities, but procures only sugarcane, paddy, wheat, and copra. As for the State government, the price is fixed only for milk procurement.

The market rates of the food crops produced by farmers have remained largely stagnant for the past 15 years, even as the costs of petrol, diesel, labor, fertiliser, seeds, medicines, and machinery rental are on the rise.

Against this backdrop, the backtracking of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, who had promised waiver of crop loans in totality in the election manifesto for farmers up to five acres of land-holding and 50 % for those with higher cultivation area, was not acceptable, he said.

The government had announced a revised decision to waive loans for farmers who had taken loans up to ₹75,000, and loan waiver of ₹35,000 will be effected for those who had taken loans above ₹75,000.

This was opposed by the farmers through a symbolic hunger strike demonstration on June 22. The farmers will also submit petitions in mass, Mr. Murugasamy said.