The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Ryots seek ‘farmer-centric’ policies

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Sunday, Jun 28, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Ryots seek ‘farmer-centric’ policies

State’s cooperative farming proposal dubbed ‘company-centric’ by farmer lobbies

‘Draft reflects State’s plan to give away lands to MNCs at throwaway prices’
‘Cooperative’ a misnomer, as farmers would stand to lose their rights over land: CPI(M)

HYDERABAD: Farmer organisations of opposition parties have asked the State government to evolve ‘farmer-centric’ policies rather than the ‘company-centric’ policy being contemplated to implement cooperative farming in the State.

The ryots’ organisations have expressed concern that the system being contemplated by the government will pave way for gradual takeover of the agriculture sector by corporates going by the contents of the draft circulated to them. Provisions seeking farmers to transfer their lands, including right of ownership in the name of the company, reflected the government’s intentions to give away lands to multinationals at a throwaway prices.

Round table held

Representatives of the A. P. Rythu Sangham of CPI(M), AP Ryotu Sangham of the CPI, Telugu Rythu and other organisations participated in a round table organised by the A.P. Rythu Sangham here on Saturday.

The event was held ahead of the all-party meeting convened by the government on June 29 to discuss its plans for introduction of cooperative farming on a pilot basis.

CPI(M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu said the “cooperative” was being used as a misnomer as farmers would stand to lose their rights over the land. The provisions mentioned in the draft were giving rise to apprehensions that the government was planning to give away 45 lakh acres of its land to private entities in the name of the scheme.

Subsidies

He ridiculed the claim that small holdings were leading to low productivity and suspected that the government was trying to stop subsidies and concessions that were now being extended to small and marginal farmers.

TDP representative Sankineni Venkateswara Rao wanted the government to make necessary provisions to ensure that the boundaries of lands were not disturbed.

CPI State secretariat member K. Ramakrishna wondered why the government was trying to push through the process without concentrating on alternatives and repercussions involved in the system.

The government had already handed over vast extents of lands to multinationals in the name of SEZs in a hurried manner.

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