I urge the govt to relook at issue of subvention of interest on crop loans. Let us not further persecute our already vulnerable farmers.

Urging the Union government to reconsider proposed modifications to the crop loan interest subvention scheme, DMK Treasurer M. K. Stalin strongly defended the rights of vulnerable agriculturists across Tamil Nadu and India. Stalin emphasized that reducing or withdrawing interest subsidies on short-term crop loans would inflict devastating financial burdens on farmers who were already reeling from unpredictable weather patterns, rising input costs, and drought conditions. He noted that timely access to low-interest institutional credit is the only shield preventing distressed farmers from falling into the predatory clutches of private moneylenders. Stalin pointed out that the central government must prioritize agrarian sustainability over fiscal austerity, particularly when agricultural viability forms the bedrock of national food security. He reminded policymakers that past DMK regimes had provided completely interest-free crop loans through cooperative institutions in Tamil Nadu to foster agricultural stability. Stalin called upon both the union and state governments to expand agricultural credit subsidies, write off accumulated loan interests, and provide comprehensive financial protections to ensure that rural cultivators are not driven to despair or forced into catastrophic livelihood abandonment across rural regions.