The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Implement Swaminathan panel proposals: Naidu

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Friday, Mar 14, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Implement Swaminathan panel proposals: Naidu

Staff Reporter

Seeks fixing of minimum support price for various agricultural commodities

Rajahmundry: Describing the farm loan waiver announced by the Central Government as defective, TDP president N.Chandrababu Naidu demanded that the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission be implemented without discriminating the farmers as small and marginal as each of those doing agriculture was in acute financial distress.

He also sought the fixing of minimum support prices of various agricultural commodities as suggested by the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices.

Speaking to reporters at the R&B guest house here on Thursday, Mr. Naidu said loans taken by all categories of farmers should be waived as the scheme announced in the 2008-09 budget would benefit only up to 8 per cent of the farmers in distress.

There were also several conditions which result in the exclusion of genuine farmers from the loan waiver scheme. Moreover, farmers who borrowed from private money lenders were ignored.

Mr. Naidu observed that some 1.5 lakh farmers committed suicide in the last 10 years but few of them were extricated from the financial crisis Concrete action has to be taken on the MSP front also if the farmers were to remain unaffected by the adverse conditions that afflict the entire farm sector.

The TDP president further said that India was on the brink of importing rice due to the imprudent policies of the Central Government.

As of now huge quantities of wheat and some other commodities are being imported at exorbitant costs. It’s a matter of serious concern for food security which is assuming alarming proportions.

Mr. Naidu sought to know in what capacity was Sonia Gandhi coming to dedicate the Pushkara lift irrigation scheme at Purushotthapatnam in the district on Friday.

The line between the Government and the party should not be blurred, he said, citing the unofficial stature in which Sonia Gandhi would be dedicating the project to the nation.

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