Trade agreements on verge of implementation in MP

Bhopal, June 26 (UNI) About 80 per cent of trade agreements to the tune of Rs 6,900 crore inked during a recent Agri Meet will be implemented before October when a Global Investors' Meet is scheduled here, Madhya Pradesh Principal Secretary (Agriculture) Pravesh Sharma said.

''Such implementation will be presented as a model in front of investors. The Agri Meet's objective was to provide a proper marketing system for sale of the produce of this state's peasants, and we succeeded. Madhya Pradesh's achievements in the agri sector are rather good but that image has not been publicised in India and abroad,'' he told UNI.

Pointing out that the state's Sharbati wheat was globally known for its high quality, the official added the state produced the world's highest quantity of garlic.

''We are speedily advancing in pulses and oilseeds production and might be among the first three states in the country vis-a-vis agriculture in few years. The apprehension -- that events such as agri meets encourage contract farming, which ultimately places peasants' interests at stake -- is baseless. To secure cultivators' interests, ryots should be themselves organised,'' he felt.

Mentioning that kisan utpadak samitis existed in few districts of the state, Mr Sharma added that each of them had 1,000-1,500 members.

''The samitis' representatives inked more than Rs 6 crore worth of agreements with the private sector, during the Agri Meet, sans involvement of middlemen. Today, the Madhya Pradesh farmer is not demanding subsidy from the government,'' he claimed.

UNI