• Compared to Rs 750 crore given in loans in 2005-06, Rs 2,000 crore was disbursed in Rs 2006-07.

• Farmers got an interest waiver of over Rs 700 crore. Moreover, they are not supposed to repay their old debts until two years from now and even after that, they can pay in instalments.

• Early this year, 12 lakh farmers got relief worth Rs 400 crore as reimbursements of their deposits with the Cotton Federation. Another Rs 130 crore came in as relief against natural calamities.

• Significantly, rabi area (2 lakh hectares in 05-06) went up three times (6 lakh hectares in 06-07) due to the soil retaining moisture after a good monsoon.

“Whatever agrarian suicides that are now being witnessed are mainly because of high cost of cultivation on small land-holdings,” says Amravati Divisional Commissioner S K Goel.

But officials are keeping their fingers crossed. “One of the major lacunae in the farm package is non-availability of credit to defaulters this year,” said one of them who did not wish to be named. “Since agricultural gains and losses are a cyclic process, gains made in one year can be washed out the next year if monsoon and markets aren’t good. That is the reason why we need to have continued at least the interest-waiver for three to four years, rather than restricting it to one year.”

In fact, the Radhakrishnan Committee that looked into farmers’ indebtedness did recommend continuation of interest-waiver facility so that farmers continue to get fresh loans.