The Rs60,000 crore farm loan waiver announced by finance minister P Chidambaram in the 2008-09 budget may not help Vidarbha as most farmers in the region have land holdings of two-hectares and above.

The region, where close to 60 per cent farmers have a landholding of more than two hectares, has witnessed the maximum number of suicides by debt-ridden farmers in the past few years. 

Whatever benefits they derive would be marginal and limited to small cotton farmers in Vidarvha, given the chunk of the loan waiver scheme is targeted at small and marginal farmers with land holdings of less than two hectares.

The annual budget presented by Chidambaram has a farm loan waiver provision of Rs.60,000 crore intended to extend the benefit to 40 million farmers across the country. The one-time settlement would cover marginal and small farmers whose loans were rescheduled last year.

The two-hectare cap may, however, benefit the sugarcane and grape cultivators in western and southern Maharashtra who have smaller land holdings but large-income-yielding agriculture.