NEW DELHI: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said the Centre would soon convene a meeting of State Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Ministers to gather their views on the comprehensive report of the National Commission on Farmers. Chairman of the Commission M.S. Swaminathan submitted the fifth and final report to the Minister last week.

The Ministry would base its views on the suggestions given by the States before the recommendations of the report were placed before the Union Cabinet, Mr. Pawar told reporters on the sidelines of the International Rice Congress here. The Commission would be given three months extension in the meantime.

On whether the Centre would accept the suggestion for amending the Constitution to include agriculture on the concurrent list for better partnership between the Centre and the States, he said the opinion of the States would be sought on that issue too. On the demand to remove the ban on sugar exports, he said the Government would take a decision after the festival season. Sugar production was expected to be between 225 and 227 lakh tonnes this year.

On wheat, Mr. Pawar said there was no move to release the commodity under the Open Market Sale Scheme although the Government had released some quantities for the above poverty line populations. The package for revival of wheat production and productivity, to be introduced from this rabi, had been referred to the Cabinet.

Rice procurement was progressing well this kharif marketing season. In fact, if it continued to be as good as last year's, there could be a problem of plenty. Decentralisation of procurement in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal helped.

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