The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : NCF to submit final report on October 2

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 25, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

NCF to submit final report on October 2

Special Correspondent

Each State should set up a farmers' commission, suggests M.S. Swaminathan

INFORMAL CHAT: M.S. Swaminathan, chairman of the National Commission on Farmers, speaking to participants at an inter-action session of the commission with farmers, farm scientists, self-help groups and others in Bangalore on Saturday. — Photo : K. Murali Kumar

BANGALORE: M.S. Swaminathan, chairman of the National Commission on Farmers (NCF), has said that bringing down the cost of agricultural production and increasing the income of farmers can prevent agrarian distress.

Inaugurating an interaction session of the NCF with farmers, farm scientists, self-help groups and government departments concerned, Dr. Swaminathan said the commission would submit its final report to the Centre on October 2.

It had already submitted four reports. A second draft of all the reports would be submitted in September, which would focus on policy and implementation aspects of agricultural programmes, he said.

Since agriculture was a State subject, each State should set up a farmers' commission with an eminent farmer as chairperson. The commission should submit an annual report to be placed before the legislature for discussion and decisions. Punjab was the first State to do set up such a commission. Ad hoc measures would not help solve the problems farmers were faced with, he said. Dr. Swaminathan said there was a need for all States to implement a five-point programme (soil, water, credit and insurance, post-harvest and technology) to address farm sector issues. The policies formulated by the States and the reports of the State farmers' commissions would be considered during the preparation of the 11th Five-Year Plan. Gujarat was the first state to issue soil health cards to farmers, he said.

He suggested that agricultural universities focus on problems confronting small and marginal farmers.

Priority should be given to cultivation of pulses, oilseeds and horticultural crops, and livestock, in dry farming regions.

Minister for Agriculture Bandeppa Kashempur said the Government had decided to issue soil-testing kits to farmers in the State's 27,000 villages over three years. A sum of Rs. 5 crore had been earmarked to distribute kits to 9,000 farmers this year.

Decline in growth

A. Ramaswamy, Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Horticulture, said the growth of agriculture had decelerated from the mid-1990s on account of drought and delay in the execution of irrigation projects. The growth rate declined from 3.6 per cent in 1996 to 1.2 per cent in 2006.

The 10th Plan had set a target of four per cent growth, which was unlikely to be achieved, he said.

The State Government had decided to double farm production in the next 10 years. Hence attention needed to be given to improving extension delivery, post-harvest measures and completion of pending irrigation project, he said. Freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy spoke.

Y.C. Nanda, NCF member; Atul Sinha, NCF member-secretary; farm scientists; and representatives of banks and organisations participated in the session.

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