Tamil Nadu   

Ramadoss suggests an alternative agricultural policy

CHENNAI: Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S. Ramadoss on Tuesday suggested a three-pronged strategy for rejuvenating rural and urban economies of the State.

Presenting an “alternative agricultural policy” here, he suggested setting up Special Agro-Economic Zones (SAEZs), combining primary (farming), secondary (manufacture), and tertiary (service) of the rural economy; forming artisan-cluster units to revive rural crafts and transforming craftsmen into entrepreneurs/managers; and utilising information and communication technology as a catalyst to trigger accelerated rural development.

Dr. Ramadoss was confident that by adopting the above strategy, it would be possible to make agriculture and allied activities vibrant, and bring farms and farmers to the forefront of the State’s economy. It would usher in the rural way of development through the bottom to top approach instead of the top to bottom approach, as was being practised now.

Charging that the present industrial policy and development model was coercive and anti-agricultural, Dr. Ramadoss said it would ruin agriculture and the rural economy.

It was unfortunate that at present, a farmer had no say in fixing the price for his produce.

There should be fair pricing of food grains to achieve the twin objectives of remunerative price for farmers and fair price for consumers.

Admitting that the minimum support price for paddy was not commensurate with the production cost, Dr. Ramadoss said he would soon meet Union Minister for Food and Agriculture Sharad Pawar and stress on the need for fixing a fair MSP.

Alleging that land ceiling laws were being blatantly violated by multi-national companies, Dr. Ramadoss said they were being allowed to acquire several thousand acres of agricultural land for setting up special economic zones, satellite towns and real estate projects.

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