Karnataka - Gulbarga   

CIFA to release Farmers’ Manifesto

GULBARGA: The Karnataka chapter of the Consortium of Indian Farmers’ Association (CIFA) will release Farmers’ Manifesto in Bangalore on May 6.

It will also launch an awareness campaign throughout the State to support political parties which have included in their manifestoes the points mentioned in Farmers’ Manifesto.

Disclosing this to presspersons here on Friday, executive members of CIFA and senior leaders of farmers Basavaraj Tambaki and Basavaraj Ingin said CIFA would also organise an interaction programme with leaders of various political parties on issues pertaining to farmers.

They said that major issues covered in the Farmers’ Manifesto were minimum support price for farm produce should be announced before the beginning of sowing season, steps to increase export of farm produce from Rs. 3,500 crore to Rs. 10,000 crore during the next decade, programmes to protect the interests of small and marginal farmers, programme to reclaim 8 lakh hectares of land which had become unfit for cultivation and a programme for reversing the trend of agriculture growth which had declined in recent years.

Mr. Tambaki and Mr. Ingin said the manifestoes released by the Congress, BJP and other parties had no such programmes but only promises to improve the living conditions of farmers.

There was no mention of making commercial banks to grant farm loans at three per cent interest, they said.

Mr. Tambaki said CIFA would support the candidates fielded by the front led by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and other progressive organisations in the State and in other constituencies, farmers would be urged to choose political parties which supported Farmers’ Manifesto.

Mr. Ingin said CIFA opposed the concept of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and no political party had addressed the problem of accessibility of farmers to credit from banks.

Only 17 lakh of the 60 lakh agriculturists in the State received credit from banks and others depended on moneylenders.

Mr. Ingin announced that CIFA would organise a Raitha Jagruti Rath Yatra from May 6 to 12 covering all district headquarters in the State to create awareness on Farmers’ Manifesto.

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

Stories in this Section

Fighting from parties they had fought against
CIFA to release Farmers’ Manifesto
137 file papers in Gulbarga, Bijapur and Bagalkot

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu