— Photo: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar

EVER GREEN: Andhra Pradesh Governor Rameshwar Thakur presenting the `Bharat Ratna Rajiv Gandhi Outstanding Leadership Award 2006' to agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan, in Tirupati on Sunday.

TIRUPATI: The draft national policy for farmers put on the Government website is already under debate and it broadly provided 24 policy prescriptions to ensure the livelihood security of the farmers, said M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman of the National Commission on Farmers.

The cost-risk-return structure of farming is getting adverse leading to increasing rural indebtedness and suicides, Dr. Swaminathan said. He called for a symphony of approach between the governments, NGOs, panchayats and agricultural universities to achieve what he described as an ``ever-green revolution.'' Dr. Swaminathan was delivering the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Lecture at the valedictory of a two-day national seminar organised here under the aegis of the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India and the Rajiv Rural Development Foundation.

Policy prescriptions

Some the draft policy prescriptions are expanding the scope of the minimum support price (MSP) to cover all crops, linking the crop diversification programme with the MSP, establishment of a market risk stabilisation fund to protect farmers during periods of violent price fluctuations, creation of an Agricultural Risk Fund to insulate farmers from drought and other climatic aberrations, widening the scope of agricultural insurance, insurance by seed companies in the case of GM crops, setting up of an Indian Trade Organisation to help Government operate livelihood security box, making it mandatory for States to set up Farmers' Commissions to serve as a voice of farmers and as think-tanks to advise the States.

Dr. Swaminathan said the draft policy recommended observance of the agricultural year 2006-07 as the year of farmers to restore their faith in farming. He pointed out that the recommendations of the national policy were simple and affordable provided there was a change "in our mindset to look at farmers as partners in development than looking at them as small beneficiaries of Government programmes." The draft policy also suggested that the Government provided to farm graduates low interest loans, venture capital funds, wasteland for setting up `agri-clinics' and agri-business centres and knowledge centres.

"Registered practitioners"

Another recommendation was to accord recognition to farm graduates to function as `registered farm practitioners' as in the case of physicians and veterinary doctors. He underlined the need for a few `centres of excellence' in agriculture (crop, animal husbandry, fishery and forestry) on the model of IITs and IIMs. He said the import of pulses and oilseeds was an indication of the failure to launch a green revolution in dryland farming despite having all technologies and resources.

Andhra Pradesh Governor Rameshwar Thakur recalled the vision and genius of Rajiv Gandhi, who, he said, adopted a strategy of promoting the institutions of civil society, especially the non-governmental and community-based organisations as active partners in the acceleration of development process.

Mr. Thakur presented the Rajiv Gandhi Outstanding Leadership Award-2006 to Dr. Swaminathan and three others — two from Kerala and one from Karnataka. G. Palanithurai of the Gandhigram Rural Institute also spoke.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail