NAFA asks govt to reform its anti-agricultural policies

Hyderabad, Oct 3 (UNI) The newly-formed National Alliance of Farmers Associations (NAFA), Confederation of Kisan Organisations (CKO) today demanded the Union government to change its anti-agricultural and anti-national policies and implement the Swaminathan Commission report for the benefit of farmers.

Former Chairman of the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) and patron and advisor of NAFA, T Haque said NAFA would organise a nation-wide agitation on October 22 to pressurise the Centre to correct its policies on farmers and on the agriculture sector.

A massive demonstration would be held in front of Parliament which would submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with an alternative pro-agricultural policy being prepared by the NAFA for their benefit. Demonstrations would be held in every district headquarters in the country, Mr Haque added.

Farmers were victims of wrong agricultural policies being adopted by the government. He alleged that people at the top in the government were shedding crocodile tears for farmers instead of helping them by adopting good policies benefitting the community in the country.

He said though he submitted some recommendations on the Minimum Support Prices(MSP) of certain commodities, the government had not taken any decision so far. He added that their government should announce best MSP for paddy as its cost of cultivation was higher than the wheat.

The government should encourage the farmers to produce more paddy as there was good demand for rice in the international market than wheat, he suggested.

He said the NAFA demands the government to ensure remunerative procurement prices for agricultural crops, correction in the system of collection of cost of cultivation data under the comprehensive scheme for the study of cost of cultivation by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of India and used by CACP.

The NAFA advisor also demanded the government to accord autonomous status to CACP, interest-free loans to farmers, adequate and timely supply of quality inputs at reasonable prices including seeds, fertilisers, water, electricity and comprehensive and farmer-friendly agricultural insurance schemes.

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