Demanding that farming be acknowledged as a public service, noted journalist and recipient of Raman Magsaysay award Palagummi Sainath on Tuesday said there was an immediate need to convene a special session of Parliament for at least 10 days to discuss the agrarian crisis.
“No farmer is happy, as each State has its own set of problems with regard to the peasantry. Farm movements remain the order of the day in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and the situation in Andhra Pradesh is no different,” he said while addressing the State conference of the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham, affiliated to the All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), here.
Observing that the farmers were hardly getting any benefits from the government, Mr. Sainath said, by acknowledging farming as a public service, the government would have to extend all the benefits to the farmers on a par with government servants.
“The farmers are doing a great service by way of feeding the nation. In the last three years, the farm crisis has only deepened, and it would continue to loom large in the next two years,” he said.
Highlighting the gap between the farming community and agriculture colleges and universities, Mr. Sainath observed that the institutions were serving the cause of the corporate bigwigs.
“Fertilizer manufacturers and seed marketers are literally occupying the agriculture institutions. The students, too, are seeing these institutions as a springboard for the Civil Services, but none of them is rendering service to the farmers at the end of their academics,” he said, underscoring the need for bringing about a change in the scenario.
He also said the issues of women farmers should be given importance and the AIKS should strengthen its women’s wing as more women were foraying into cultivation.
“Women farmers in Kerala have proved that one can do wonders by making use of collective farming. It will ensure food justice, besides increasing the borrowing capacity of the individual farmers,” he said.
Expressing concern over the government’s inaction on the failure of Monsanto seed, Mr. Sainath sought to know as to who should be blamed for the suicide of farmers following crop failure, which is a result of seed failure.
Systemic challenges
AIKS general secretary Hannan Mollah said the landlord system, coupled with the capitalists and corporate firms, was posing a challenge to the agriculture sector.
“Unfortunately, the government is completely neglecting the agriculture sector and spending nominal amounts on it.
“The agrarian crisis is forcing the farmers either to fight back or end their lives,” he said.
