The Hindu : Panel on agricultural trade constituted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 18, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Panel on agricultural trade constituted

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 17 . The State Government has constituted a high-level Standing Committee on Agricultural Trade, with the Chief Minister as the chairman and the Agriculture Minister as co-chairperson.

The committee has been appointed on the basis of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee on WTO concerns. It has been entrusted with the task of managing trade environment.

The terms of reference of the committee include: to bring about convergence and synergy among all on-going programmes supported by the State and Central Governments, bilateral and multi-lateral agencies aimed at deriving maximum benefits from available resources to make agriculture trade competitive; to monitor trends in domestic and external markets; to initiate pro-active action, particularly to avoid/mitigate distress to farm and labour families; to take steps to shift to an era of precision farming in order to maximise factor productivity and minimise cost of cultivation; to promote trade and IPR literacy through the mass media; to provide policy oversight to the proposed virtual university for agricultural trade, and reconstituted Land Use Board; and to suggest steps to strengthen the livelihood/security of small farmers and agricultural labourers.

The committee would have the Agriculture Secretary as its member-secretary. It would have five farmers' representatives and three representatives each of planters and farmers' associations. The representatives of Commodity Boards under the Central Government have been nominated as members.

The Vice-Chancellor of Kerala Agricultural University, Chairman CSIR, Chairman, ICAR, General Manager of Nabard, Director of Agriculture, Representatives of mass media, representatives of consumer associations and Principal Secretaries of Government departments are the other members. In addition, a representative each from the Union Agriculture and Commerce Ministries would be ex-officio members.

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