Lok Sabha MPs hail repeal of Agriculture Produce Cess

New Delhi, Aug 3 (UNI) Cutting across party affliations, the Lok Sabha MPs today complimnted the government for moving the bill to repeal Agricultural Produce Cess Act, 1940, to help the farmers of the country and asked it to ensure more subsidy, remunerative prices and storage facilities to promote exports.

They also called for urgent steps by the government to provide sufficient funds to carry on research and development in the agricultural sector and do away with the cess on other items like spices, sea food and tobacco among other things.

However, there was some flutter when the TMC leader Ms Mamta Banerjee raised the issue of what she called the diversion of about 40,000 agricultural land to an Indo-Asian company in her home state - West Bengal. ''The deal has been materialised without any tender,'' she alleged.

CPI member Pramod Panda suggested that the government should seriously ponder over the question of increasing subsidy for the agriculture sector which he said had decreased to 1.3 per cent from 5 per cent of the GDP in 1995.

Besides, India's share in world agriculture trade had fallen to less than 1 per cent from 2.6 per cent, the CPI leader added.

Brij Kishore Tripathi (BJD) said several other steps had to be taken to promote agricultural exports in view of the globalisation era. Sita Ram Singh(RJD) said while the farmer was in favour of exports of its produce, the funds on agricultural research and development should not be stopped.

Rasa Singh Rawat(BJP), Balasaheb Vikhe Patil(Congress) and Shalendra Singh (SP) also made out suggestions to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar who was present.

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