The Hindu : Front Page : Kuttanad farmers need help, says Sharad Pawar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 16, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Kuttanad farmers need help, says Sharad Pawar

Dennis Marcus Mathew

To discuss paddy procurement with State Government

ALAPPUZHA: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said that he will hold discussions with the Kerala Government on the delay in procuring paddy from Kuttanad farmers.

On a private visit to Alappuzha, which turned out to be a tour of the paddy fields in the H block of Kuttanad on Sunday, Mr. Pawar said he talked to the farmers, who had one of their best yields in recent years, and learnt that they had lost nearly 25 per cent of their crop, reportedly due to the delay in procurement by the State Government.

``I will talk to the State Government about this. If the 20-25 per cent damage that the farmers suffered is because of the delay in procurement, then the State Government will have to look into it. And once they do that and submit a report, the Centre will be ready to help the farmers in whatever way possible,'' Mr. Pawar told The Hindu.

The Union Minister, who spent close to three hours talking to farmers and going around Kuttanad on a houseboat, said the country was facing a problem on the rice front and here the crop was getting damaged.

``I have seen the real situation and they need help,'' the Union Minister said.

On the M.S. Swaminathan Commission being assigned by the Centre to see how Kuttanad's agriculture and the region could be developed in a wholesome manner, Mr. Pawar said once the commission submitted its report in June, there would be no paucity of funds.

Project implementation

``The funds will come in phases, but the project cannot be done in stages. It has to be completed as a whole and we will go into the details of the report to see that it is done in that way."

"The initial report had asked for around Rs.118 crore, but a proper estimate will be available once a full-fledged report is ready. We are looking at a long-term approach,'' he said.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president was in the State to attend a meeting of his party in Ernakulam on Monday.

He took a break at a beach resort at Mararikulam in Alappuzha, but decided to visit the district headquarters on Sunday.

The tour took a twist when Mr. Pawar, accompanied by wife Pratibha and Kuttanad MLA Thomas Chandy, saw the farmers sitting beside heaps of paddy.

``Alappuzha has lot of potential as a tourist destination not only for domestic tourists but also for the global community. The Swaminathan Commission will also look into this aspect,'' Mr. Pawar said.

``You do not get such a peaceful population that cooperates so well with tourists anywhere else. Farm tourism, therefore, can have a good patronage. What is required is proper planning and provision of infrastructure, for which the responsibility lies with the Central and State Governments. Private-public participation can also help,'' he said.

If Alappuzha is developed as a tourist destination, it will change the economy of not only the district, but also the entire State.

Overall development

The Union Government-appointed Swaminathan Commission for the overall development of Kuttanad had recently conducted extensive tours of the area to study agricultural, fisheries and environmental problems of the water-logged farm belt in the central Travancore region.

Mr. Swaminthan, noted agriculture scientist, himself had toured Kuttanad in March.

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

Front Page