“Free lunch” for farmers
The finance adviser while addressing a seminar recently on agricultural credit reminded the farmers that “there is no free lunch”. It was a misplaced accusation and at the same time very derogatory to the farming community. The farmers not only feed themselves but all of us by producing enough in all adversities. This year's bumper boro and potato harvest is a testimony to the above mentioned fact.
So, it is anybody but the farmers who enjoy the so called “free lunch” out of public money. The present Adviser is in the helm of affairs for some time, so it will not be very difficult for him to detect the freeloaders who live at the expense of public exchequer (hint: loan defaulters to name a few). As a necessary evil the non-productive sector cannot be eliminated altogether but can be halved so that it doesn't become a rapacious consumer of public money, and that is the direction towards which the finger should be pointed, not towards the hapless farmers.
While the adviser was making the comment, a number of newspaper editors, civil society members and other experts were present, but so far we have not heard anything from them as a reaction to the comment.
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