Lok Satta chief Jayaprakash Narayan on Monday said that crisis in the farming sector was man-made and emphasised the poor and ineffective legislation as a reason for the agrarian imbroglio.
Speaking at the two-day Surajya Yatra that began in Krishna district, he said the indiscriminate import policies and unscientific fixation of minimum support prices were the reasons for the crisis in agriculture. “The crisis is not owing to nature.”
He said farmers were doing everything right by putting their heart, soul and money in cultivation but the governments were unable to provide them MSP owing to import compulsions.
He cited the examples of imports of cereals and edible oil which were affecting the local farmers. “The imports are invading the market thus pushing the local produce to the corner.”
He said his recent interaction with Guntur farmers brought to light the fact that the farmers were suffering not because of bad crop but owing to a bumper crop. ‘The MSP is very low and we are badly hit. Our yield is rotting as there was no proper provision of storage.”
The Lok Satta leader said the middlemen were a reason for the poor penetration of retail malls in the country as they (the malls) would directly take care of the farmers. “China is the best example. The country is full of such retail malls. The middlemen will lose their share and that is a reason they are preventing the entry in India.” Mr. Jayaprakash Narayana said that government spends ₹11,000 every day on various heads and most part of spending on unproductive manner.
Education
He said despite spending huge amount of money on government schools, the standard of education was abysmally low in Andhra Pradesh. “For example in a recent survey, it was brought to light that 69% government school students in East Godavari did not know how to divide a three digit number with a single digit number. Similarly, 42% of Class V students did not know how to read and comprehend a paragraph from Class II book.
He said more and more poor families were preferring to enter the portals of private schools even by taking loans for huge interest, Mr. Jayaprakash Narayan said that Surajya Yatra after successfully passing through various districts entered the Krishna district and a public meeting would be held at Machilipatnam on December 12.
“On December 14, a delegation will meet Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to offer suggestions on various issues like agriculture, health, education, trade, industries and women safety which are expenditure-free.”
