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Sunday, Jan 06, 2008
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Farmers air problems at Science Congress

P. Sunderarajan

MSSRF organises a satellite-based virtual conference of farmers from five States

— Photo: K.R. Deepak

UNIQUE EXPERIMENT: Women farmers of Pokhran, Rajasthan, speak through a video conference at the National Virtual Congress of the Mahila Kisan during the 95th Indian Science Congress in Andhra University in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Minister of State for Women and Child Welfare Renuka Chowdhary and eminent scientist M.S. Swaminathan listen to them.

VISAKHAPATNAM: The 95th session of the Indian Science Congress, being held here, could well go down in history as a unique experiment, as it provided an opportunity for the farming community to voice its problems and aspirations directly to the annual gathering of policy-makers and scientists.

The Indian Space Research Organisation, the Andhra University, where the session is being held, and the Chennai-based M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) organised a satellite-based virtual conference of farmers from seven locations in five States — Thiruvaiyaru in Tamil Nadu, Moosapet in Andhra Pradesh, Jeypore in Koraput district of Orissa, Yavatmal and Waifad in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, and MSSRF.

The conference focused on the travails and dreams of women farmers as Indian agriculture is increasingly getting feminised because of migration of men to cities and towns in search of jobs. It is estimated that at present, women account for about 70 per cent of the farm workforce.

The problems voiced by the women farmers from the seven locations varied from lack of adequate credit to problems of security as they had to go to their farms at night for pumping water as power supply is erratic. A woman farm labourer also sought crèches to take care of their children when they go out to work and another sought medical and risk allowance.

There were demands for drought-resistant seeds and seed banks in the villages; government-run shelters for abandoned cattle so that they do not stray into fields; and women-friendly agricultural tools and tractors.

The conference was organised as part of the village resource centre scheme of ISRO.

Over the last two years, the space agency has set up 315 village resource centres (VRC) across the country, which are connected through satellite. ISRO has been using the network to disseminate farm-related information and as a discussion forum for the farming community. Every day, ISRO runs a four-hour programme under the scheme.

Empathising with the women farmers, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhary, who chaired the two-hour session, said her Ministry would also soon be a part of the network and use it extensively, with focus on aspects such as their health and nutrition security.

She also announced that she would convene a meeting of shoe manufacturers and discuss the possibility of producing affordable gum boots for use by women farmers while working in the fields and campaign strongly for joint title deed for agricultural land.

“It is highly atrocious that nutrition level among women was very low,” she said.

Later addressing a press conference, Dr. Swaminathan said a charter based on the points raised by the women farmers would be included in the final recommendations of the Science Congress. The nine-point charter, among other things, called for issue of joint title deeds as it was absolutely essential for the women farmers to get access to Kisan credit cards and institutional credit, and for special insurance schemes to cover them from occupational hazards like leptosporosis infection in paddy fields.

Support services

It would also urge for support services such as crèches, anganwadis to reduce their burden, and bring about changes in the curricula of agricultural universities to make students more gender sensitive.

V.S. Hegde, Head of the VRC programme of ISRO, said the number of VRCs in the country would be increased to 4,000 within two years.

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