Tamil Nadu   

Fight against injustice, farmers told

GOBICHETTIPALAYAM: If Indian farmers have to have a sustainable, profitable agriculture, there are three things that they will have to do: adopt traditional farming practices, reject anti-farmer or farming clauses in the World Trade Organisation’s rules and not fall in debt cycle, Devender Sharma, food policy analyst has said.

Speaking at Farmer Rights Convention organised here on Friday, Mr. Sharma said, “Traditional farming, which in other word means organic farming, is the only way out because it helps the farmer reduce the cost of input, increase yield and above all protect soil, water and air, thereby remain environment friendly.” “And, even while practicing organic farming, the farmers have to be careful not buy organic supplements from shops because there again the market forces are playing tricks.”

The Delhi-based activist continued, “Under WTO, the Country has compromised farmers’ livelihood by removing tariffs, paving way for cheap imports into the Country. Whereas in the West, the governments continued to subsidise farmers, making it a uneven playing field.” In this context Mr. Sharma told farmers how under the globalised world it was better to be a cow in the USA than be a farmer in India. “As per a study, a cow in America gets a subsidy of Rs. 150 a day, while an average Indian farmer earns only about Rs. 20 a day.” Regarding his third call for farmers coming out of debt cycle, the author of books on agriculture and farm policy said, “Farmers, rather than fighting for crops to be waived off, should ask for increased income. They should focus on income and not debt.”

He said, “The amount of money the Government will spend by increasing the minimum support price to a level acceptable by farmers is much less than what they write off under crop loan.” V. Jeevanandam of Tamil Nadu Green Movement said one way of rescuing agriculture was to protect it from traders. “The market which at present is a buyers’ one should be made sellers’ ”.

Earlier in the day, Pamaiyan of Thalanmai, an organisation fighting for sustainable agriculture, welcomed the gathering.

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